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4% '. 





GEORGE WASHINGTON ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

(1732-1799) (1809-1865) 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND 

GOVERNMENT 


A TEXT-BOOK FOR GRAMMAR SCHOOLS ON THE 
HISTORY AND Cl NIL GOVERNMENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES 


BY 


JAMES ALBERT WOODBURN, Ph.D. 

M 

PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND POLITICS IN INDIANA UNIVERSITY 


AND 


THOMAS FRANCIS MORAN, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND ECONOMICS IN PURDUE UNIVERSITY 


“ The history of the world is not intelligible 
apart from the government of the world.” 


> n 


LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 

91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
LONDON AND BOMBAY 

1906 ^ 


\ 

\NS« 


library Of CONGRESS 

Two Cooles Received 

MAH 16 906 

-Copyright Entry 

CLASS (L ixc.'Nol 

^4. t »f 

' COPY B. 


Copyright, 1906, by 
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 


PREFACE 


The purpose of this -volume is to- set forth the essential facts 
in the history of the United' States and to explain the general 
principles of our national and local governments. It is our 
belief that ‘‘ the history of the world is not intelligible apart 
from the government of the world/’ and also that government 
cannot be fully understood apart from history. Each throws 
light upon the other. We have therefore combined the history 
and government of the United States in a single volume, be- 
lieving that by so doing the presentation of each will be 
strengthened. 

It is not necessary to argue the necessity of teaching Civics 
in our schools. The school child of to-day will be the citizen 
of to-morrow and should have an adequate training for the 
responsibilities of citizenship. The American citizen governs 
himself, and to do so successfully he must be familiar with the 
principles of self-government as contained in the Constitution 
of the United States and also in the constitution of his own 
state. 

It is true that Civil Government is quite generally taught in 
our high schools, but frequently not until the fourth year. In 
that case only a small proportion of our boys and girls can avail 
themselves of the benefits of such a course, as a large number 
of them conclude their school work with the grammar grades and 
only a comparatively few are graduated from the high school. 
It is safe to say that a very large majority of our pupils leave 
school without having had any direct and systematic instruction 
in Civil Government. This is the argument for placing the 
study of Civics in the grammar grades. In many cases this 
has already been done, but rarely with entire success. The 


PREFACE 


obstacles are two in number. In the first place it is argued that 
the course of study for the grammar grades is already full and 
that no time, or at least not sufficient time, could be given to 
the study of Civil Government. In the second place it is held 
to be difficult to interest children of grammar school age in 
laws and constitutions. In the preparation of this volume we 
have attempted to meet these two difficulties. By lessening the 
space usually given to many miscellaneous and disconnected 
topics we have obtained space for a more adequate treatment of 
the important themes and movements that have been decisive in 
our national development, while at the same time we have set 
forth the principles and forms of the American government, 
both state and national, to an extent sufficient for the needs of 
pupils of the grammar grades. Both the history and the 
government — the entire book — can be completed in the two 
years usually given to the history alone. A further crowding of 
the course of study is thus obviated. 

Civil Government is, moreover, greatly vitalized by being 
taught in connection with history. Our constitutions and laws, 
taken by themselves, are not matters of great interest to young 
children, but when studied in connection with American his- 
tory and with the proper historical background they take on 
a new life. 

We have aimed to connect directly in the pupil’s school work 
the study of his country’s history with the study of his country’s 
government. Teachers of History and Civil Government rec- 
ognize the interdependence of these two subjects. The 
Committee of Seven of the American Historical Association 
expressed a feeling common to many teachers by saying : 
“ Much time will be saved and better results obtained if History 
and Civil Government be studied in large measure together, as 
one subject rather than as two distinct subjects. . . . What 
we desire to emphasize is the fact that the two subjects are in 
some respects one, and that there is a distinct loss of energy in 
studying a small book on American History and afterwards a 
small book on Civil Government, or vice versa^ when by com- 


VI 


PREFACE 


billing the two a substantial course may be given.” (Report on 
‘‘The Study of History in Schools,” 1898.) 

The plan of the book is simple and, we think, logical. The 
essential facts of American history, from the period of the dis- 
covery to the close of the Revolution, are set forth together 
with their meaning. The causes of the failure of the Articles 
of Confederation and the necessity for a stronger form of gov- 
ernment are then explained. The work of the Constitutional 
Convention is then briefly reviewed, after which a study is made 
of national and local government The historical narrative is 
then resumed at the beginning of the national period (1789) and 
brought down to the present time. The pupil is thus made to 
see in logical order the failure of the old form of government 
and the making of the new. He also studies the character of 
the new Constitution and notes its actual operation after 1789. 
He is shown that the Nation and its Constitution are a growth, 
not a creation ; they are studied and explained in the light of 
their development and in a form simple enough to appeal to the 
interest and understanding of young pupils. The making, the 
7 iature, and the operation of the Constitution thus follow each 
other in natural sequence, and the study of American govern- 
ment is placed where it should logically come. It is placed 
where it grew. It appears in its natural setting. Many other 
phases of civil government are discussed here and there 
throughout the book, where they form a natural part of the 
narrative. 

Great national movements and questions have been empha- 
sized, while unimportant details and non-essentials have been 
reduced to a minimum, or omitted altogether. The space 
usually given to military history has been greatly reduced. 
The causes and results of our national wars have been 
fully explained, but the details of marches and counter 
marches have been reduced to their lowest terms. While the 
patriotism of war is recognized, the spirit of war is not 
exalted. An attempt has been made to give the pupil a clear 

idea of the plan of the campaign without burdening his mind 

• • 

Vll 


PREFACE 


and wearying his brain with the minute details of military 
maneuvers. 

Some school histories devote much valuable space to the 
Johnstown flood, the Charleston earthquake, the Boston fire. 
Western blizzards, and topics of a similar character. These 
we have eliminated. Vivid accounts of such matters may be 
interesting to children, but they do not lead to an understanding 
of the salient features of our political and industrial develop- 
ment. They are matters of journalism rather than of history, 
and have had no influence upon the trend of national life. 

In dealing with disputed questions an effort has been made 
to be fair to both sides. In discussing the American Revolu- 
tion we have made an honest endeavor to do full justice to the 
British as well as to the American cause ; and in the treatment 
of the problems of the Civil War we have sought to recognize 
the merits of both North and South. It is the duty of the 
historical writer to ascertain and to set forth the truth without 
partiality. 

We have also sought to tell the story without imposing our 
opinions upon the reader. We believe that the pupils, in the 
light of the story, may be left to exercise their own judgment on 
questions of right and wrong. We have not deemed it a part 
of our duty to tell the children that certain men were good and 
others bad; that some were ‘‘noble patriots,” while their oppo- 
nents were “rebels,” “traitors,” and “villains.” Epithets of 
denunciation are out of place in a child’s historical vocabulary. 
Children’s opinions on controverted men and measures should 
be left without prejudice until a larger knowledge may enable 
them to form a judgment for themselves. To tell the facts 
with a fair statement of opposing views, to tell what men did, 
to explain their motives and convictions — this has been our 
purpose. But as impartiality does not involve indifference, 
approval is not withheld from the recognized characters and 
achievements in our history. Morals and patriotism will follow 
in the wake of truth. 

In the matter of presentation no pains have been spared to 


vni 


PREFACE 


make the narrative clear and simple. A large part of the manu- 
script was read by teachers of grammar grades, and some of 
it was actually taught to seventh and eighth grade classes. 

We are indebted to a large number of teachers for valuable 
suggestions and criticisms in connection with the preparation 
of the manuscript and the reading of the proof. We would 
acknowledge our special obligation, however, to Professor 
Edward G. Bourne of Yale University; to Professor E. W. Dow 
of the University of Michigan; to Professor C. R. Fish of the 
University of Wisconsin ; to Professor Andrew Stephenson of 
De Pauw University; to Miss P"ffa L. Horn of the Centennial 
School, Lafayette, Indiana; to Mr. and Mrs. Otis Johnson of 
the schools of Tippecanoe County, Indiana ; to Mr. Edward 
H. Davis and Dr. W. R. Manning of Purdue University; and 
to Professor W. A. Rawles of Indiana University. 

JAMES ALBERT WOODBURN. 

THOMAS FRANCIS MORAN. 


IX 



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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Introduction — The Unity of History i 

II. Discovery and Exploration lo 

The Norsemen .......... lo 

The Voyages of Columbus ........ 14 

Other Expeditions to the New World ...... 21 

The Exploration of the Interior . . . . . • . .24 

III. Physical Features 27 

IV. The Colonization of the South 30 

Virginia 36 

Maryland ........... 42 

The Carolinas ........... 44 

Georgia . 46 

V. The New England Colonies 49 

Plymouth . . . . . . . - . . . *50 

Massachusetts Bay Colony ........ 55 

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . *57 

Connecticut ........... 58 

New Hampshire and Maine ........ 59 

The New England Confederation ....... 60 

The Indians ........... 61 

Sir Edmund Andros . . ' . . . . « . *63 

VI. The Middle Colonies 65 

New York ........... 65 

New Jersey ........... 74 

Pennsylvania ........... 76 

Delaware 79 

VII. The Progress of the Colonies 81 

VIII. The Struggle between France and Great Britain ... 90 

French Exploration and Colonization ...... 90 

Earlier French Wars ......... 97 

The French and Indian War 99 

The Seven Years’ War ......... 107 

IX. The Causes of the American Revolution 113 

X. The Declaration of Independence 134 


XI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER page 

XI. The War for Independence 142 

The War in the Middle States ....... 142 

1777 146 

1778- 1779 151 

1779- 1780 152 

The Campaigns in the South . . . . . . .154 

XII. The Old Confederation and its Failure . . . .162 

XIII. Making the Constitution 177 

XIV. The New Government . 187 

XV. The President 193 

XVI. The Senate 205 

XVII. The House of Representatives 210 

XVIII. The Judiciary 217 

XIX. The States and Local Government 223 

XX. The Territories 228 

XXL The Inauguration of the Government — The Supremacy of 

THE Federalist Party . ' 230 

Washington’s Administrations, 1789-1797 ..... 230 

The Presidency of John Adams, 1797-1801 .... 244 

XXII. The United States in 1800 253 

XXIII. The Period of Republican Control 259 

Jefferson’s Administrations, 1801-1809 ..... 259 

James Madison, 1809-1817 ....... 270 

The War of 1812 273 

James Monroe, 1817-1825 280 

XXIV. The Second Adams 287 

XXV. The Jacksonian Democracy 293 

Jackson’s Administrations, 1829-1837 ...... 293 

Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841 ....... 307 

^ XXVI. Slavery and the Missouri Struggle 31 1 

XXVII. The Abolition Agitation 319 

XXVIII. Texas, Oregon, and the Mexican War 330 

The Oregon Question ........ 335 

The Mexican War ......... 338 

XXIX. The Compromises of 1850 344 

XXX. The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the Struggle 

FOR Kansas 356 

XXXI. The Final Struggle against Slavery Extension . . . 367 

XXXII. Secession and Disunion 377 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XXXIII. The Civil War — The First Year in the East . . . 382 

XXXIV. The Civil War — The Second Year — The Campaign in the 

West 395 

The Peninsular Campaign ........ 401 

Emancipation .......... 404 

XXXV. The Civil War — The Last Two Years — The War in the 

East Again 409 

Politics: Election of 1864 . . . . . . ... 416 

The Final Movements of the War ...... 419 

XXXVI. The Period of Reconstruction 429 

XXXVII. The United Nation, 1877-1906 446 

President Hayes, 1877-1881 ....... 446 

Garfield and Arthur, 1881-1885 449 

Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889 . . . . . . -451 

Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893 ....... 454 

Cleveland’s Second Administration, 1893-1897 .... 456 

William McKinley, 1897-1901 ....... 458 

The Spanish- American War, 1898 ...... 459 

McKinley and Roosevelt, 1901-1905 ...... 466 

Conclusion ........... 469 


APPENDICES 

1. Declaration of Independence xxi 

2. Constitution of the United States xxiv 

3. Statistical Tables .......... xxxviii 

4. Chapter Reviews xlii 

5. References ' Ixiv 

6. Index Ixxvii 


X111 



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ILLUSTRATIONS 


(From photographs or prints unless otherwise indicated. 


Arranged in alphabetical order.) 


PAGE 


Adams, John. (From the painting by Gilbert Stuart) 245 

Adams, John Quincy. (From the painting by Durand) 287 

Adams, Samuel. (From an engraving of the painting by Copley) . . .124 

Alamo, The. (By permission) facing 331 

Arthur, Chester A. ^ . . . . . 450 

Beauregard, General P. G. T. ^ . . . . . . . . . . 386 

Best Friend, The ” . 296 

Buchanan, James ^ . 367 

Calhoun, John C. ^ . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 

Cartier, Jacques. (After the original painting at St. Malo) .... 91 

Cincinnati about 1830 ......... Facing 298 

Clark, George Rogers. (From the painting by J. W. Jarvis) . . . *,174 

Clay, Henry ^ . 279 

Cleveland, Grover 452 

Columbus Statue at Genoa . . . . . . . . . . i 

Columbus’s Departure from Palos . . . . . . . . .18 

Continental Paper Money . . . . . . . . . . .166 

Cotton Gin, Modern .......... Facing 312 

Cotton Gin, The First . . . . . . . . . . .312 

Culebra Cut, Panama ........... 468 

Davis, Jefferson * ............ 378 

Declaration of Independence. (^Facsimile of first few lines) . . . • I39 

Declaration of Independence, Signing. (From the painting by J. Trumbull) . 140 

Faneuil Hall, Boston . . . . . . . . . . .128 

Farragut, Admiral David Glasgow ^ . . . . . . . . . 423 

Fast Express Train of To-day .......... 297 

Federal Hall, New York City .......... 233 

Fillmore, Millard ^ . 353 

Franklin, Benjamin. (From the painting by Duplessis) ..... 181 

Franklin’s Letter to Mr. Strahan. (^Facsimile) . . . . . .136 

Garfield, James A. ^ . . . . . . . . . . . . 449 

Gettysburg, Soldiers’ Monument at ........ . 410 

Grant, Ulysses S. ^ , . . . 43^ 

Hamilton, Alexander ........... 235 

Hancock, John. (From the painting by Copley) ...... 140 


XV 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Harrison, Benjamin ............ 454 

Harrison, William Henry ........... 309 

Hay, John 463 

Hayes, Rutherford B. * . . . . . . . . . . . 447 

Hudson, Henry ............ 66 

Independence Hall in 1776 ........ Facing 135 

Indian Welcome on the Charles, An ........ 56 

Jackson, Andrew * . 294 

Jackson, General Thomas J. (“ Stonewall ”) * . . . . . . . 390 

Jamestown, Site of ............ 38 

Jefferson, Thomas. (From the painting by Gilbert Stuart) .... 260 

Johnson, Andrew ^ . 429 

Johnston, General Albert Sidney . 399 

Jones, John Paul. (After the portrait by C. W. Peale) . . . . .152 

King Philip. (From an engraving of Ihe original published by Church) . . 63 

Lafayette, The Marquis de ......... . 149 

La Salle, Robert Cavelier de. (From an engraving of the original painting) . 96 

Lee, General Robert Edward * ......... 388 

Lincoln, Abraham ^ . Frontispiece \/^ 

Madison, James. (From the painting by Gilbert Stuart) ..... 270 

Magellan, Ferdinand ........... 23 

Marquette entering the Wisconsin River at Portage. (From a bas-relief by 

Herman A. McNeil in the INIarquette Building, Chicago. By permission) . 96 

Marshall, John. (From the portrait by Harding) ...... 221 

Massachusetts State House, Old. (From a picture in the possession of the 

Massachusetts Historical Society) . . . . . . . .127 

McKinley, William ............ 459 

Modern Transatlantic Steamship, A Type of. (Courtesy of Munroe and Munroe, 

New York City) ........... 282 

Monroe, James. (From the painting by Gilbert Stuart) ..... 280 

Montcalm . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 

Mount Vernon, Virginia ......... Facing \(^o ■ 

New York City about 1670. (From a plate in “ Montanus Nieuwe en Onbe- 

kende Weereld ” in the New York State Library ..... 73 

Old South Meeting House, Boston . . . . . . . . .126 

Penn, William. (From a print after the painting by West) .... 77 

Philadelphia about 1754 ......... Facing 102 

Pierce, Franklin 356 

Pilgrims going to Church ........... 54 

Pilgrims, Landing of. (From a painting by Charles Lucey) • • • • 53 

Pitt, William, Earl of Chatham. (After a portrait by Hoare) . . . .108 

Polk, James K. . 339 

“ Prairie Schooners ” ........... 347 

Raleigh, Sir Walter. (From the painting by Zucchero) ..... 32 


XVI 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Representatives, House of, Washington ..... 

• 

Facing 

PAGE 

210 

Roosevelt, Theodore ........ 

• 

• • 

466 

Savanttahf Steamship. (From a contemporary newspaper illustration) 

• t 

281 

Senate Chamber, Washington 

• 

Facing 

206 

Seward, William H. ^ 

• 

• • 

384 

Sheridan, General Philip Henry ^ ..... . 

• 

• • 

415 

Sherman, General William Tecumseh ^ . . . . . 

• 

• • 

419 

Smith, Captain John. (From the title-page of his “ Generali Historie ” 

)• • 

39 

Stephens, Alexander Hamilton ^ ..... . 

Stuyvesant destroying the Demand for Surrender, 1664. (From 

• • • 

an engraving 

379 

of the original painting by Powell) ...... 

Stuyvesant, Peter. (From an engraving of the original painting in the 

• • 

posses- 

'72 

sion of Robert van Rensselaer Stuyvesant) 

• 

• • 

70 

Supreme Court Chamber, Washington ..... 

• 

Facing 

217 

Taylor, Zachary ^ . 


• • 

350 

Thomas, General George H.* ....... 


• • 

412 

Tyler, John. (From a drawing by Lambdin) .... 
United States Commissioners to sign the Treaty of Independence, i 

* 00 

• • 

(From 

333 

an unfinished painting by Benjamin West) 

• 

Facing 

158 

Van Buren, Martin* ........ 

• 

• • 

308 

Vespucius, Americas. (From the painting from life by Bronzino) 

t 

• • 

22 

Washington, George. (From the portrait by Gilbert Stuart) 

Frontispiece 


Washington’s Letter to Franklin. {Facsiuiile) 

• 

• • 

178 

Washington’s Pocket Case ....... 

• 

• • 

lOI 

Washington, The Capitol ........ 

• 

Facing 

205 

Webster, Daniel * ........ . 

• 

• • 

301 

White House, East View ........ 

• 

Facing 

193 

White House, Front View ....... 

• 

• • 

204 


/ 






Wolfe, James. (From a contemporary print by R. Houston) 


I 10 


* The portraits marked by a star are from negatives by Brady in the collection of F. H. 
Meserve, Esq. z 


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^ U . I 



LIST OF MAPS 


NO. 

1. Map of the Known World in the Time of Columbus . 

2. Trade Routes to the East ....... 

3. The Voyages of Columbus ....... 

4. Magellan’s Expedition ....... 

5. Physical Map of the United States ..... 

6. Grants of Land to the London and Plymouth Colonies 

7. The Southern Colonies ....... 

8. The New England Colonies ...... 

9. The Middle Colonies ........ 

10. The English Colonies in 1700. Colored .... 

11. French Explorations and the P'rench and Indian War 

12. North America in 1750. Colored . . . . . 

13. European Possessions in 1763 ...... 

14. War Map of the Revolution . . . . 

15. North America in 1782 ....... 

16. The United States at the Close of the Revolution. Colored 

17. State Claims to Western Lands ...... 

18. Map illustrating the War of 1812 

19. The Erie Canal ......... 

20. The Oregon Territory ....... 

21. Texas and her Claims ....... 

22. Taylor’s Campaigns ........ 

23. Division of the West proposed by France .... 

24. Acquisitions of Territory . . . . ' . 

25. The United States in 1861. Colored. . . . . 

26. Military Situation in the West, 1862 ..... 

27. The Peninsular Campaign ....... 

28. The Civil War, 1861-1865. Colored 

29. Philippine Islands 

30. Porto Rico 

31. The West Indies, Panama, and the Canal Route 

32. Products of the United States ...... 


• • 

PAGE 

12 


13 

• • 

19 

• • 

24 

• • 

28 

• • 

34 

• • 

37 

• • 

51 

• • 

67 

Facing 

81 - 

• • 

92 

Facing 

99 ^ 


. 115 

. 144 

. 156 

Facing 158 ^ 

• 175 

. 274 

. 289 

• 336 

• 338 

• 341 

• 359 

. . 368 

Facing 387 

• 391 


Between 41 


402 

Mi 7 

460 

464 

467 

471 




XIX 








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AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION 
The Unity of History 

1. American History is the Outgrowth of European History. — 

It would be a mistake to suppose that in studying American 
history and government we are studying something which has 
no connection with the history and government of the rest of 
the world. American history is simply a part of general history, 
and not something separate and complete in itself. We must 
look upon the history of the world as one continuous story, and 
upon the study of history as one study. In short, we must 
recognize the unity of history. This means that the history of 
any one particular nation should be studied as a part of the 
history of the world. For our purpose it means that American 
history is an outgrowth of European history and should be 
studied in that light. When vve study the history of the found- 
ing of the American colonies, we shall see that there is a very 
close connection between the history of the United States and 
that of England, France, Spain, and other European nations. 
In order to understand this connection, and to give to American 
history its proper historical setting, it will be necessary to note 
the position which the United States occupies in the history 
of the world’s civilization. 

2. The Earliest Civilization was in the East. — At the dawn of 
history the center of the world’s civilization was in the East, 


2 


AMERICAxV HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


or the Orient, as it is sometimes called. The history of the 
world, in so far as it has been traced, begins with the peoples 
who lived in the valleys of the Nile and Euphrates rivers about 
five thousand years or more before the birth of Christ, or nearly 
seven thousand years ago. Egypt and Chaldea may be looked 
upon as ‘Hhe twin sources of modern culture.” Historians have 
been able to find no older civilizations. 

3. The Egyptians made Advances in Industry, Literature, 
Science, and Art. — The early Egyptians made marked advances 
in agriculture, literature, religion, architecture, sculpture, paint- 
ing, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and engineering, and 
transmitted their knowledge through the Hebrews, Phoenicians, 
Greeks, and Romans to the modern nations. They “ lit the 
torch of civilization ” and passed it on to their neighbors. 

There is an undoubted connection between the history of 
Egypt and that of the United States. It is impossible, for 
example, to understand American history without an under- 
standing of the Christian religion ; and an understanding of 
Christianity is impossible without a knowledge of the religion 
of the Hebrews, — the authors of the Old Testament; and a 
thorough understanding of the Old Testament cannot be ob- 
tained without a study of the sacred writings of the Egyptians 
known as “ The Book of the Dead.” The close connection 
ibetween the religion of the Hebrews and that of the Egyptians 
is explained by the fact that the Hebrews lived in Egypt for 
several centuries, and that Moses and other leaders of the 
people were educated by Egyptian priests. 

4. The Civilization of Chaldea was quite Similar to that of 
Egypt. — While the Egyptians were making progress in the 
arts and sciences on the banks of the Nile, the Chaldeans were 
similarly occupied on the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates. 
There was a striking similarity between these two early civiliza- 
tions, and the land between the Tigris and Euphrates has been 
well called “The Asian Egypt.” 

5. The Hebrews were Teachers of Religion. — We get our first 
glimpse of the Hebrews about eighteen hundred or two thousand 


INTRODUCTION 


3 


years before Christ, when the patriarch Abraham and his fol- 
lowers left the ‘‘Ur of the Chaldees ” and came to what is now 
Palestine. The Hebrews were not “ mighty builders,” as the 
Egyptians were. They were not a great industrial or commer- 
cial people. They were not artists or scientific men. Their one 
great contribution to the civilization of the world was their reli- 
gious teaching. It is true that all ancient peoples had religions, 
but that of the Hebrews was of the most refining and elevating 
kind. It was called Monotheism, and consisted, as the name 
implies, in the worship of one God. It was their religion that 
made them a “ peculiar people.” 

6. The Phoenicians were Traders, Navigators, and Colonizers. 
— A few centuries after the time of Abraham the Phoenicians 
became an important factor in Eastern or Oriental history. They 
occupied a narrow strip of land between the Lebanon Mountains 

• and the Mediterranean Sea, and their principal cities were Tyre 
and Sidon. They were the merchants, the traders, the navigators, 
and the colonizers of the ancient Oriental world. Their greatest 
service to civilization was not in making advances in 
literature, art, or science, but in spreading the culture 
of other nations among the people with whom they 

• ^ ■ - -. , jj nations. 

came into contact. I hey were the “disseminators 
or scatterers of civilization, and one of their chief exports was 
the alphabet. 

7. The Persians were Soldiers and Rulers. — In the sixth cen- 
tury before Christ the great Persian Empire was founded. The 
Persians were brave soldiers and masterly rulers, and extended 
their sway over thousands of miles of territory from Asia Minor 
on the west to the Indus River on the east. 

8. Summary of Oriental Civilization. — Such, then, were the 
beginnings of the world’s civilization. The Egyptians and 
Chaldeans made some advances in industry, literature, art, 
science, and law ; the Phoenicians were the spreaders of civiliza- 
tion ; the Hebrews were the teachers of religion ; and the Per- 
sians were the conquerors and governors who welded together 
an immense empire. The Chinese, Japanese, and Hindoos have 


4 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


ancient and important civilizations, but as these peoples did not 
come into contact with other nations at this time, the influence 

of their civilizations need not be considered. 

« 

9. The Greeks were Literary Men and Artists. — After the 

decline of the Oriental nations the center of civilization moved 
westward and halted among the Greeks. Here for a few cen- 
turies flourished one of the most beautiful civilizations in all 
history. One writer calls the country “ that point of light in 
history,” and another exclaims : We are all Greeks. Our 

laws, our literature, . . . our art, have their roots in Greece.” 

The connection between the civilization of Greece and that of 
the Oriental countries is unmistakable. “ It was from the East,” 
Mr. Rawlinson declares, that Greece derived her architecture, 
her science, her philosophy, her mathematical knowledge, — 
in a word, her intellectual life.” It is undoubtedly true that 
Greece did receive the beginnings of her culture from the East, 
but she was in no sense an imitator. She improved to such an 
extent upon what she received that some of her achievements in 
literature and art have never been surpassed and, in the opinion 
of some, never equaled. 

The civilization of Greece reached its highest development 
during the so-called ‘‘ Age of Pericles,” in the fifth 
ofPerid^V’ century before Christ. During this '‘golden age” 
5th century architecture, sculpture, painting, history, poetry, ora- 
tory, and philosophy were developed to a degree of 
perfection never before approached. 

10. The Romans were Soldiers, Lawgivers, and Governors. — 
There came a decline in Greek power, however, and the center 
of civilization moved on to Rome. Greece became a Roman 
province and Rome ruled the affairs of the world. The Romans 
were very different from the Greeks. The Greeks were liter- 
ary men and artists, while the Romans were soldiers, lawgivers, 
and governors. Rome began her career as an insignificant little 
village, or group of villages, on the banks of the Tiber, but in 
the course of a few centuries she became the mistress of the 
civilized world. In the second century of the Christian era the 


INTRODUCTION 


5 


Empire reached its greatest extent. It extended from the Atlan- 
tic Ocean on the west to the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf on 
the east, and from the Rhine and Danube on the north to the 
Sahara Desert on the south. The Mediterranean Sea was then, 
in truth, a Roman lake.” 

The civilization of Rome reached its highest development 
during the reign of Augustus, who was Emperor at the time 
of the birth of Christ. This was Rome’s best, or 
golden age.” Her greatest artists, poets, his to- tan^ 
rians, and orators lived at about this time. It was “Golden 
not in art or literature, however, that the Romans 
made their greatest contribution to civilization, but in law, 
politics, and government. In these subjects the Romans were 
masters ; in art and literature they were imitators. 

Rome, however, in spite of her power and magnificence, was 
destined, like the other states of antiquity, to fall. In 395 a.d. 
the P^mpire was divided into two parts : the eastern xhe Empire 
with its capital at Constantinople, and the western was divided 
with its capital at Rome. The western part, from 
the historical standpoint, is by far the more important of the 
two. At the time of the division, and even before, the Empire 
had begun to decline. The Roman soldiers were no longer 
looked upon as unconquerable. The old fire and spirit seemed 
to be lacking. 

11. The Germans invade the Empire. — The Germans or 
Teutons, as they are sometimes called, who lived to the north 
of the Danube River, were the most powerful of the A Germanic 

foes of the Romans. As the Romans declined in piaced^oV^ 
power and spirit, the fierce, hardy, barbarian Germans the throne 
obtained footholds in various parts of the Empire, 

^ . r J Roman 

and finally in 476 a.d. succeeded in putting one of Empire 
their number on the throne at Rome. The Roman 

‘ German- 

and the German then contended for the supremacy ized.” 
in the civilization of the Western Empire. The two were quite 
unlike. The Romans were far more cultured than the Ger- 
mans, but the latter were more vigorous and virtuous, and 


6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


so triumphed in the end. After the lapse of a few centuries 
the German gained the upper hand, and the Empire in the 
West became thoroughly Germanized.” 

12. Charles the Great is crowned Emperor on Christmas 
Day, 800 . — The Germans continued to rule in the West, and 
finally there appeared among them one of the greatest men in 
European history. Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, was 
crowned Emperor on Christmas Day, 800, and immediately set 
about to educate his people and to improve his Empire. It should 
be borne in mind, however, that his Empire was not so exten- 
sive as the Roman Empire of the second century, which embraced 
the whole civilized world. The Empire in the East had cut off 
Greece and Asia Minor, and the Mohammedans, a religious sect 
which had originated in Arabia in the seventh century, had 
conquered western Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. The 
Empire of Charles the Great was thus of comparatively narrow 
He is sue- limits, and to this Empire he gave his best efforts. 

ceeded in rilled his domains with a firm hand until his death 

814 by his 

son Lewis in 8 1 4, when he was succeeded by his weak son, 
the Pious. Lewis the Pious. Lewis reigned until his death in 840, 
at which time the Empire was divided among his three sons. 
These sons quarreled over their possessions, but finally, by the 
treaty of Verdun of 843, they came to a definite 
agreement. It was agreed that one son was to have 

^v^Med into eastern part of the Empire, corresponding 
three parts roughly to modem Germany ; that another was to 
have the western part, corresponding somewhat 
to modern France ; and that the third was to have a 
part of Italy and a narrow strip of territory extend- 
ing from Italy to the North Sea. 

13. The States of Modern Europe grew from the Divisions of 
the Empire. — Thus the great Empire in the West fell apart, 
and from its divisions grew the states of modern Europe. When 
the foundations of these states were laid and each had begun 
its independent development, the course of civilization advanced 
from Rome and branched out in various directions. There was 


The 

Western 


by the 
treaty of 
Verdun 
in 843. 


INTRODUCTION 


7 


no longer a single center of civilization, but many centers. The 
treaty of Verdun helped to divide the river of civilization into 
several streams which flowed to the various capitals of Europe. 

14. The Dark Ages and the Renaissance. — Some of these 
branches of the stream of civilization found their way, in due 
time, to America. In order to see clearly how this 
came about it will be necessary to retrace our steps of^civmza- 
somewhat. It will be remembered that the Germans tion reaches 
took possession of the Empire in the West in 476 
A.D. They came into the country in vast numbers both before 
and after this date, and their coming made a great change. 
The entire character of the Empire was transformed. The 
fires of its civilization seemed to be smothered as by a great, 
wet blanket spread over them. Then followed a period of 
ignorance and superstition, popularly known as the 

j. X y Dark 

Dark Ages.” It seemed as if the lights of learning Ages,” 5th 
had been snuffed out by the hands of the rude, bar- 14th 
baric Germans. The people were not being educated 
and the writing of literature had almost ceased. This period 
lasted for about eight hundred years, or until the fourteenth 
century ; at which time a remarkable change took place. Dur- 
ing the Dark Ages ” the fires of civilization had not really 
gone out. They were slowly smoldering during all of that 
time, and in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries they blazed 
up and burned more brightly than they had ever done. Renais 
This period is called the Renaissance, or '‘the new sance, 14th 
birth,” as the world seemed to be born again. The 

’ ^ ^ ® centuries, 

period began with "a revival of learning” in Italy, began in 

The old literature of Greece and Rome, which had 

been neglected for centuries, was now studied by the scholars 

of the time. 

In addition to a revival of learning there was also a revival 
in other lines of activity. Men’s minds were more active than 
they had been for centuries. The dust and cobwebs of the 
" Dark Ages ” were being brushed from the brain of Europe. 
Commerce and industry had been revived, and cities had begun 


8 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


to grow. 


The dis- 
covery of 
America 
was an out- 
growth of 
this revival 
in industry, 
commerce, 
and 

navigation. 


Goods were manufactured in greater abundance, and 
trade routes were established to the extreme parts of 
the civilized world. Man was eager to find new and 
better routes for his trade, and as a consequence 
interest in geography and navigation was quickened- 
It was this latter desire, as we shall see later, that 
led to the discovery of the American continent. The 
famous discovery by Columbus in 1492 should be 
looked upon as the outgrowth of that remarkable 
revival in learning, industry, commerce, and navigation which 
took place in the latter part of the Middle Ages. The stream 
of civilization had penetrated to a new continent. 

15 . American Civilization was derived from Europe in General 
and from England in Particular. — The sources of American civ- 
ilization constitute an interesting study. The civilization of 
Europe first came tb America from Spain, as Columbus sailed 
from that country. At a later time it came from the British Isles, 
France, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, and other European coun- 
tries. The majority of the leading nations of the world had a 
part in the exploration and colonization of the American con- 
tinent. Consequently American civilization is a mixture, and 
it was a question for a time which element would come upper- 
most. We shall see, as we continue our study, that England 
and France obtained the strongest footholds in the New World, 
and that in 1754 they began a final struggle for the supremacy 
of North America. The English were victorious in this war, 
^ , and English influence has since dominated our civili- 

guage, law, zation. While tributary streams have come from all 

ment arrof Europe, the main stream of American civili- 

Engiish zation is English. We speak the English language, 
origin. manners, customs, law, and government have 

been, for the most part, derived from England. 

Perhaps enough has been said to show the connection between 
American history and the history of the rest of the world. We 
have traced the stream of the world’s culture from its twin 
sources in Egypt and Chaldea ; we have followed its course to 


INTRODUCTION 


9 


Palestine and Phoenicia and on to Greece and Rome ; we have 
noted its branching out from Rome to the countries of modern 
Europe, and thence to the American continent. The main 
point to be remembered is that there were six thousand years of 
history before the American continent was discovered, and 
that American history is inseparably connected with that which 
had gone before. American history is the outgrowth of Euro- 
pean history, and American civilization is, for the most part, 
the flower and fruit of the civilization of Europe. The Ameri- 
can continent is geographically separated from the rest of the 
world, but historically it is not so. There is an unbreakable 
bond of union between the two which grows stronger with 
passing years. In the light of these facts we shall probably 
agree with Professor Freeman when he emphasizes the unity 
of history ” and insists that we must look on the history of the 
world as one continuous whole.” 




CHAPTER II 


DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


Vinland 

colony 

founded. 


16. Norsemen discover America about looo A.D. — The Norse- 
men from the Scandinavian peninsula were probably the first 
Europeans to set foot upon the American continent. In the 
latter part of the tenth century (985), these hardy sea rovers, 
under the leadership of Eric the Red, made settlements in 
Greenland, and about the year 1000, Leif Ericson, the son of 
Eric, is said to have come from Norway by way of Greenland 
and Iceland and to have landed upon the shore of North 
America somewhere to the south of Labrador. He and his 

companions, about thirty-five in number, named the 
place ‘‘Vinland” because of the abundance of wild 
grapes which they found. Here they spent the winter. 
Other settlers came, and a colony was founded, only to be aban- 
doned later. No trace of this Vinland colony has ever been found 
in the United States, and its exact location still remains a mys- 
tery. It was probably somewhere within the present bounda- 
ries of Massachusetts or Rhode Island. 

This discovery, however, although a picturesque historical 
event, is a matter of no practical importance. It apparently 
The Norse made little impression upon the minds of the people 

discovery was soon forgotten. The men of the later 

was of no , 

practical Middle Ages knew nothing of it. The real and prac- 
importance. ^[Q^d discovery of America was made by Christopher 

Columbus about five hundred years later. 

17. The Discovery of America by Columbus grew out of the 
Renaissance. — It was stated in the previous chapter that the 
discovery of America grew out of that remarkable revival in 


10 


DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


II 


learning, industry, and commerce which took place in Europe in 
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It will be necessary for 
us at this time to note more definitely the way in which this came 
about. We have seen that the intellectual and material life of 
Europe was greatly quickened near the close of the Middle Ages. 
There was greater interest in learning; commerce and manufac- 
turing developed ; gunpowder was introduced ; printing was 
invented ; and there was a renewed interest in geography and 
travel. The spirit of enterprise was in the air. One result of 
all this was to stimulate trade with the East. 

18 . The East was looked upon as a Country of Great Riches. — 
For centuries the people of Europe had carried on an extensive 
and valuable trade with the East. India and China, or Cathay, 
as it was then called, were the sources from which the nations 
of Europe obtained gold, precious stones, silks, perfumes, 
spices, and other highly desirable commodities. The fact that 
little was known about the East made the locality still more 
attractive. There was fascination in its mystery. Travelers 
returning from India and China brought marvelous tales con- 
cerning the wealth and magnificence of those countries. Marco 
Polo, an Italian who had traveled extensively in the East, wrote 
of the country in glowing terms in 1299, and soon after there 
appeared the entertaining ‘'Voyage and Travels of Sir John 
Mandeville,” made up from earlier narratives of travel. These 
books fired the imagination of the West. They told of “ silver 
walls and golden towers,” of precious stones and fountains of 
youth, and of palaces paved with plates of gold “ like slabs of 
stone, a good two fingers thick.” “ For centuries,” says Justin 
Winsor, “the Orient had been the dream of the philosopher 
and the goal of the merchant. Everything in the East was 
thought to be on a larger scale than in Europe, — metals were 
more abundant, pearls were rarer, spices were richer, plants 
were nobler, animals were statelier.” 

Access to this wonderful country was naturally a matter of 
great importance, and routes of trade between Europe and the 
East were studied with great care. In the Middle Ages there 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


I 2 


were three important routes : one leading to Genoa by way of 
There were l^^e Caspian and Black seas and Constantinople ; 

three im- another to Antioch by way of the Persian Gulf and 
portant 

trade routes the Euphrates valley ; and the third to Venice by way 
to the East. q£ Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean. 



Map of the Known World in the Time of Columbus. 

Travelers had been to India, China, and Japan. Portuguese navigators had crept 
down the western coast of Africa, and Bartholomew Diaz had reached the Cape 
of Storms (Cape of Good Hope). Vasco da Gama had not yet circumnavigated 
Africa and reached India. The American continent was enveloped in darkness. 

These routes, dangerous and expensive at best, were being 
The Turks gradually cut off by the Turks as they extended their 
cutoff these sway over Asia. P'inally, in 1453, Constantinople fell 
routes. ^1^^ hands of the Turks, and the route leading to 

Genoa, the birthplace of Columbus, was closed. It now seemed 
that the time was approaching when all overland communica- 
tion between Europe and the East would be cut off. The great 
commercial and geographical problem of the fifteenth century zoas, 


DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


13 


the7^efore, ike finding of a nezv trade roiite to the East. An aii- 

Some improvements had recently been made in the water route 

, . , . was espe- 

art of navigation, and for this and other reasons an ciaiiy desir- 

all-water route was especially desirable. • 



Trade Routes to the East. 


For centuries Europeans had toiled up and down these routes, with boat and 
caravan. They carried woolen cloth, linen, black lead, wine, and glassw'are 
to the East, and received in exchange fragrant spices, black pepper, cotton 
cloth, silks, ivory, pearls, sapphires, diamonds, and other valuable articles. 

Spain and Portugal, the leading maritime nations of Europe 
at the time, attempted to solve this great problem by different 
methods. Portuguese sailors tried to reach India by „ • 

^ ^ ^ Spam and 

sailing around Africa and thence into the Indian Portugal 

Ocean ; while the Spaniards, guided by Columbus ^nd^^ew^^ 

and acting upon the theory that the earth was a routes to 

globe, attempted to reach the same place by sailing 


14 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


directly west. Both of these attempts should receive attention 
at this time. 

19. Prince Henry, the Navigator. — The most notable efforts 

of the Portuguese were made under the wise and unselfish 
guidance of Prince Henry, the Navigator. A half a century 
before Columbus sailed on his first voyage of discovery, navi- 
gators sent by Prince Henry were cautiously creeping down the 
The western coast of Africa in an attempt to round the 

Portuguese continent and thus reach India. They finally suc- 
find a new . . . . . ' . ^ _ 

route to ceeded alter many years ot patient endeavor. In 

India. 1497 Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon, and re- 

turned two years later laden with the jewels, silks, and fine 
fabrics of the East. The Portuguese had solved the problem, 
but not in the lifetime of their noble prince, and not until 
Columbus was about to sail for the third time in search of a 
western route to India. 

. The Voyages of Columbus 

The Portuguese attempted to solve the great problem of the 
fifteenth century and succeeded ; Columbus attempted to do 
the same thing and failed, yet the failure of Columbus is 
vastly more important then the success of the Portuguese. 

20. Christopher Columbus. — Columbus was born in Genoa, 
Italy, probably about the year 1446. Until a very recent time 
there was considerable doubt in regard to the exact location of 
the birthplace of the great navigator. 

Seven cities claimed the Homer dead, 

In which the living Homer begged his bread.” 

The case of Columbus was quite similar to that of the Greek 
poet, Homer. No less than twenty-five places — sixteen of them 
in Italy — claimed the honor of being Columbus’s birthplace. 
That distinction has now, however, been quite definitely settled 
upon Genoa. 

Columbus was fairly well educated for the time in which he 
lived, and was an expert penman and map maker. He was a 


DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


15 


vigorous and daring youth, and to him adventure was the spice 
of life. He drifted to the sea and made several voyages while 
a mere boy. Lisbon was the 
center of nautical affairs at 
that time, and Columbus made 
his way to this city in 1470, or 
possibly a little later. In this 
favorable atmosphere he began 
to make his great plans. 

Columbus was a close stu- 
dent of geography and naviga- 
tion and came to the conclusion 
that India could be reached by 
sailing westward from Spain. 

It would be a mis- ^ , 

Columbus 

take to suppose, was not the 
1, J.U ^ *.u first to be- 

however, that the uevethat 

idea that the earth the earth is 

. 1 . a sphere. 

IS a sphere was orig- 
inal with Columbus. That idea 
was held in Greece two thou- 
sand years before Columbus 
was born. It was taught by 
Aristotle, the great Greek phi- 
losopher, and also by a few of the noted scholars of the Middle 
Ages. At the time of Columbus most people still believed that 
the earth was flat, but many scientific men thought it a globe. 

Neither was Columbus the first to come to the very natural 
conclusion that India could be reached by sailing west. About 
twelve years before Columbus made his famous voyage he 
received a letter from Toscanelli, a famous Italian astronomer, 
in which -the latter stated definitely that in his opinion 
India could be reached by sailing west from Europe, sends his 

Toscanelli also sent Columbus a map which was used 

. Columbus. 

on the famous voyage of discovery. It was estimated 

by the Italian astronomer that the distance from Portugal to Asia 



vStatue of Columbus erected at 
Genoa, Italy. 

Genoa was the probable birth- 
place of the great navigator. 



It) 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


was not more than three thousand miles. This error aided 
Columbus in fitting out his expedition. If the true distance had 
been known, — about twelve thousand miles, — it would have been 
exceedingly difficult for Columbus to induce sailors to undertake 
the voyage. 

Columbus, then, was not the first to announce these great 
scientific theories relating to the size and shape of the earth, but 
he was the first man who had the courage to test these theories 
by pushing boldly out into the Atlantic Ocean, or The Sea of 
Darkness,” as it was frequently called, which was supposed to 
be inhabited by gorgons, chimeras, and other terrible monsters. 
This was the great work of Columbus. 

21. Columbus finds Great Difficulties in fitting out his Expedi- 
tion. — Columbus had no little difficulty in securing money to 
fit out his expedition. He offered his services to several of the 
monarchs of Europe, only to be refused. “ The King of Portu- 
gal,” he writes sadly, “ refused with blindness to second me in 
my projects of maritime discovery.” 

About 1484 Columbus went to Spain and laid his case before*^ 

Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen. He pleaded his 

own cause and did it with remarkable dignity and self- 

to^he^King possession. He was neither dazzled nor daunted ” 

and Queen splendor of the royal court. He said later that 

of Spain. Jr y ^ 

“ he felt himself kindled as with a fire from on high, 
and considered himself as an agent chosen by Heaven to accom- 
plish a grand design.” His task was not an easy one. The* 
Spaniards were fighting the Moors at the time, and the royal 
court, following the army, moved about from place to place. 
Columbus followed the court and pleaded his cause in the midst 
of the din of battle. He received but little encouragement, and 
in the fall of 1488 went to Portugal, but returned to Spain in the 
following spring. The learned men were consulted, 
to leave they pronounced his plan vain and impossible.” 

Spain in been pleading his cause for six years in 

Spain, and all in vain. Sick at heart, he determined 
to go to the King of France. He began his journey, penniless 


DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


17 


and on foot, and begged his way to the seaport town of Palos, 
which he afterward made famous. Footsore and weary, he 
stopped at the convent of Rabida and asked for food and drink. 
Here he met the prior of the institution, who became interested 
in his plans and determined to assist him. The good prior 
pleaded with the King and Queen in behalf of Columbus, and 
the result was that the great navigator was recalled in haste to 

the roval court. Columbus retraced his steps and „ . 

^ He IS re- 

appeared before the monarchs at Granada at a very called to 

favorable moment. Granada, the Moorish capital, had 
fallen. The war was over, and the Spaniards had won. 

The hated Moors had been defeated after a struggle of nearly 
eight centuries, and there was great rejoicing. So when Colum- 
bus appeared in the Spanish camp in December, 1491, he was 
received with more than ordinary favor. The Queen was par- 
ticularly favorable, as her advisers had made eloquent appeals 
to her patriotism and religious fervor. A decision An 
was easily reached, and the monarchs agreed to fit agreement 
out the expedition. 

22 , Columbus receives his Commission. — Ferdinand and Isa- 
bella gave Columbus a commission for the expedition on April 30, 
1492, and preparations for the voyage were begun at once. 
Palos was all excitement. There was some difficulty in obtain- 
ing a crew to man the ships, as sailors were not eager to risk 
their lives in such a mysterious and perilous undertaking. Three 
vessels were finally fitted out, — the Santa Maria ^ Three 
in charge of Columbus himself, and the Nina and the vessels are 
Pinta, in charge of the Pinzon brothers, navigators ready, 
of Palos. The boats carried ninety sailors and a total of 
one hundred and twenty men, including a physician and a 
surgeon. The largest boat was only sixty-five feet in length 
and twenty feet in width, as Columbus preferred small ves- 
sels for the coast service which they were expected to per- 
form. The scenes in Palos during the days of preparation were 
impressive in the extreme. The people looked upon the pro- 
posed voyage in a very serious way. The hardened mariners 


i8 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


made frequent visits to the mass and the confessional in order 
Columbus prepared for the worst. Finally everything was 

sails, Aug. in readiness, and on Friday, August 3, 1492, an hour 
3 ’ before sunrise, the ships set sail. 



Departure of Columbus from Palos. 

The departure of Columbus from Palos was an im})i*essive scene. It 
was felt that the voyage upon “the Sea of Darkness” was both peril- 
ous and important. Priests had prepared the sailors to meet death. 


23. The Voyage. — The little vessels reached the Canary 
Islands on the 12th of August and then sailed boldly toward 
the west. The crews contained many troublesome characters, 
and discontent and fear soon took possession of them. They 
wished to turn back, they became mutinous, and even threatened 
to throw Columbus overboard. In order to deceive the sailors 
in regard to the distance which the boats had gone, Columbus 
recorded the daily sailings as less than they really were. All 
eyes were looking anxiously for land, and some were confident, 
in several instances, that they saw it in the distance, only to find 
that clouds had been mistaken for mountains. Matters were 
fast becoming critical, and the strain upon the great mariner 
was severe. He was looking and praying for land, knowing 





DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


19 


well that his life depended upon the finding of it. Finally, at 
ten o’clock on the night of October ii, Columbus thought that 
he saw a light moving to and fro in the distance, and Landis 
four hours later — at two o’clock on the morning of discovered, 
October 12, 1492 — land was distinctly seen in the ^492. 

moonlight, They were near a new continent, but Columbus was 
not aware of it. He went ashore on one of the smaller islands 
of the Bahama group, and took possession of the land Columbus 

in the name of the King and Queen of Spain. He has^^eacLd 
named the island San Salvador, or Holy Saviour, and India, 
called its inhabitants Indians, for he supposed that he had 
reached the Indies. 



I I SPAIN 


AZORES 


MADEIRA 
IS. ® 

CANARY IS./' 


BERMUDA 

IS. 


BAHAMA IS, 


SALVADOR 

. • y. 


HONDURAS 


CAPE VERDE 
IS. 


TRINIDAD 


The Voyages of Columbus, 1492-1502. 

By these voyages Columbus found a new continent without knowing it. 
“ Nothing like it was ever done before, and nothing like it can ever be 
done again. No worlds are left for a future Columbus to conquer.” 


About three months were spent by Columbus and his men 
in going about from island to island. On the 21st of October 
they came to Cuba and naturally thought it a continent. They 
then went to what is now San Domingo, or Hayti, and Colum- 
bus was so impressed with the beauty of the island and with its 


20 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


He lands in 
Portugal, 
March 4, 
1493- 


reputation among the natives for large mines of fine gold ” 
He founds a that he determined to make a settlement there. The 
colony. material for the fort and storehouse was furnished in 
a most unexpected way. On Christmas Day the waves had 
dashed the Santa Maria to pieces upon the shore, and her tim- 
bers were used in making the rude building. About forty men 
were left in the new colony, but Columbus found none of them 
alive when he returned to the spot on his second voyage. 

24. Columbus sets out for Spain, January 4, 1493. — On the 
4th of January, 1493, the Nina and the Pinta set out for Spain. 
A few savages were taken on board as curiosities and as evi- 
dences of the success of the expedition. The rations soon ran 
short, and a shark and a tunny fish were welcome additions to 
the store of food. The ships encountered violent storms, and 

after many mishaps the Nina was compelled to land 
in Portugal on the 4th of March. Here the adven- 
turers were looked upon with hostile and suspicious 
eyes. Columbus sent a messenger to Spain to an- 
nounce his success, and after remaining nine days in Portugal, 
he and his followers again put out to sea, and reached Palos two 
days later. By a peculiar coincidence the Pinta sailed into 
Palos on the evening of the same day. The two ships had been 
separated in a storm near the Azores, and each thought that the 
other was lost. The reunion of the crews was a happy 
Spain, one, and March 15 thus became a notable date in the 

March 15, history of Palos. There was great rejoicing on every 

hand, and Columbus was held in high honor. 

25. Columbus makes Three Other Voyages. — Columbus had 
not yet reached the India of silks, spices, and precious metals, 
although he was confident that he had touched a remote part of 
that country. He was not content, therefore, to drop the work, 

and during the next few years he made three other 

He touches 1 1 - i 1 

the South western voyages. On the third trip, in 1498, he 

American touched the coast of South America at the mouth of 

coast, 1498. 

the Orinoco River. Soon after his fourth voyage 
he died in Spain, in poverty and wretchedness, in the year 1 506. 


DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


21 


He was without honor. Instead of the gold, jewels, and fine 
fabrics of the East, he had brought to Spain simply 
a few dusky savages. The world-wide importance died without 
of his great discovery had not yet begun to dawn 
upon the minds of men. 

26 . The Pope divides the Heathen World between the Spaniards 
and Portuguese, May 4, 1493. — In order to prevent conflict the 
Pope divided the heathen world between the Spaniards and the 
Portuguese by his famous line of May 4, 1493. He decreed 
that the Spaniards should have all the lands which they might 
discover on the west of a meridian drawn one hundred leagues 
west of the Cape Verde Islands, and that the Portuguese should 
have similar privileges on the east side of the line. In the fol- 
lowing year by a mutual agreement between Spain and Portu- 
gal the line of division was placed three hundred and seventy 
leagues west of the Islands. It was still supposed to be in mid- 
ocean, but as a matter of fact the change gave the eastern part 
of South America, what is now Brazil, to Portugal. 


Other Expeditions to the New World 

27 . John Cabot explores the Atlantic Coast of North America, 
1497-1498. — England usually has a part in the opening up of 
new territory ; and so it was in this instance. She was natu- 
rally enterprising and had been stirred to activity by the efforts 
of her rivals, Spain and Portugal. Consequently, in 1497, when 
it was believed that Columbus had found a new route to India, 
but before the Portuguese had succeeded in their efforts, John 
Cabot, an Italian, sailed from Bristol under the English flag in 
an attempt to And a northwest passage to the great East. On 
the 24th of June he saw land, probably in the vicinity of Labra- 
dor or Cape Breton Island. He was thus the flrst European 
since the Northmen to set eyes upon the continent of North 
America. He was greatly honored upon his return to England 
and was given ^10 (equal in value then to about $500) by the 
gracious King for finding the ‘'new isle.” 


22 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


In April of the following year, John Cabot crossed the Atlan- 
tic at the head of another expedition and explored the eastern 
coast of North America, possibly from Greenland as far south 
as Chesapeake Bay. Lost in the gloom of the Western 
Ocean,” John Cabot never returned. England later laid claim 
to the entire continent of North America on the basis of his 


discoveries. 


28. Americus Vespucius explores the Coast of South America, 
1501. — It is an interesting fact that the leading discoverers of 



Americus Vespucius. 

This noted Italian navigator was born 
in Florence in 1451. America was 
named after him. Some have said 
that he procured this honor by 
fraud, but this is not true. It was 
thought at the time that Columbus 
had reached Asia and that Vespucius 
had discovered a continent lying to 
the south of Asia. It was accident and 
ignorance, not fraud, that deprived 
Columbus of the distinction of hav- 
ing the American continent named 
in his honor. Vespucius died, 1512. 


this period were Italians, yet Italy 
did not obtain a single foot of 
territory upon the American con- 
tinent. The reason for this is 
that the great Italian navigators 
sailed under the flags of other 
countries. 

Americus Vespucius, another 
Italian, who later became promi- 
nent in the service of Spain, ac- 
companied a Portuguese expedi- 
tion in 1501, which explored the 
coast of South America from Cape 
San Roque to the La Plata River, 
and then turned its course to the 
southeast and reached the island 
of South Georgia, about twelve 
hundred miles east of Cape Horn. 
Here the ice and extreme cold 
of the Antarctic regions were en- 
countered, and the expedition 
was compelled to turn back, but 
not before it had gone farther 
south than any of its predeces- 
sors. 


Vespucius wrote an account of his voyages which made a 
great sensation in Europe. Men were impressed with the 


/ 


DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


23 


immense extent of seacoast which was now known to exist, 

and gradually came to the conclusion that the new 

- Vespucius 

land was a continent and not an island. In 1507 a writes an 

German professor, Martin Waldseemiiller, published account of 

his voyages. 

a geography and suggested that the new or fourth ” 
part of the earth be called ‘‘America ” in honor of its “America” 
discoverer, Americus Vespucius. The name was first named in 
applied to what is now Argentina, then to what is 
now South America, and finally to the entire continent. The 
voyages of Vespucius had a marked effect in expanding geo- 
graphical ideas. 

29 . Magellan sails around the World, 1519-1522. — By 1519 
it was only too clear that the Spaniards had not reached the 
East Indies and that the Portu- 
guese had found the islands where 
the spices grew. They were, how- 
ever, so far to the east of India 
that Magellan, a Portuguese navi- 
gator, was able to persuade the 
King of Spain to equip an expe- 
dition in the hope of finding them 
by sailing west, and of proving 
that they lay in the Spanish half 
of the world. Magellan, in com- 
mand of five Spanish ships, sailed 
away to the southwest, hoping to 
find a strait through the continent 
by which he could proceed to the 
Spice Islands. This voyage is the 
most remarkable one ever put on 
record. Five ships left Spain and 
only one returned, the others hav- 
ing been either abandoned or lost. 

The course of the expedition was 
to the southwest, through the straits to which Magellan gave 
his name, across the ocean which he named the “ Pacific,^’ on 



P^ERDINAND MAGELLAN. 

The “ Prince of Navigators,” a Por- 
tuguese nobleman, was born about 
1470 or 1480. He served in the 
Portuguese navy, then entered the 
service of Spain. He was killed by 
the natives in the Philippines in 1521 
while in command of the first expe- 
dition that sailed around the world. 



24 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


to the East Indies, and back again to Spain by way of the Cape 
of Good Hope. The hardships of the voyage cannot be de- 
scribed. Magellan contended against hunger, cold, heat, wind, 
wave, disease, and mutiny, and was finally killed by savages 



Magellan’s Expedition, 15 19-1522. 

It left Spain Sept. 20, 1519; entered the present Straits of Ma- 
gellan Oct. 21, 1520; reached the Philippines March, 1521; and 
one ship only succeeded in returning to Spain (Sept. 6, 1522). 

in the Philippines. One of his ships, and only one, the Vic- 
toria^ found her way back to Spain, after an absence of three 
years. The importance of this voyage cannot be overestimated. 
The so-called American obstruction ” had been passed and the 
earth had been completely circumnavigated for the first time. 

The theory of the sphericity of the earth had been 

Magellan ^ ^ ^ 

proved the demonstrated m a practical way. There was no 

earth to be longer any excuse for holding to the belief that the 
a spnere. 

earth was flat. 

The Exploration of the Interior 

30. The Exploration of the Interior began in 1513 . — No 

attempt was made to push into the interior of the continent 
until 1513. Now, however, the Europeans were eager to reap 
the rewards of their labors. In this exploration the Spaniards, 
eager for wealth and power and spurred on by love of adventure 
and religious zeal, led the way. 


DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION 


25 


31 . Balboa discovers the “Pacific.’’ — Balboa, a Spanish ad- 
venturer, was the first to leave the coast. In 1513 he crossed 
the Isthmus of Panama, discovered the great ocean which he 
called the “South Sea,” since named the “Pacific,” and took 
possession of it in the name of the King of Spain. 

32 . Ponce de Leon explores and names Florida, 1513. — In 
the same year (1513) Ponce de Leon, a Spanish soldier and 
governor of Porto Rico, came to what is now Florida in search 
of the mythical “fountain of youth.” He found no such foun- 
tain, of course, but he gave the country its present name because 
he first saw it on Easter Sunday, which in the Spanish is called 
Pascua (pas-coo-ah) Florida, meaning “the flowery passover.” 

33 . Cortez and Pizarro. — A little later (1519- 1521) Cortez 
made his famous conquest of Mexico and became a national 

<k 

hero. In 1532 Pizarro, another Spanish soldier, made a similar 
conquest of Peru. William H. Prescott, the American historian, 
has written of these two conquests in a very interesting and 
instructive way. 

34 . Narvaez explores the Southwest, 1528-1536. — In 1528 
Narvaez, also a Spaniard, landed at Tampa Bay, Florida, with 
three hundred men bent upon exploring the interior. They 
met with indescribable hardships, and the company was finally 
reduced to four men. For eight years these luckless survivors 
floundered about in the forests, swamps, and deserts of the pres- 
ent Texas and northern Mexico, and finally reached the Gulf 
of California in 1536. 

35 . De Soto discovers the Mississippi River, 1541. — Another 
hardy Spanish explorer was Hernando de Soto. He and his 
followers landed in Florida in 1539, and after wandering about 
in the swamps and jungles of the Gulf region for two years 
discovered the Mississippi River in April of 1541. On May 21 
of the following year De Soto died of swamp fever, and was 
buried in the bed of the river which he had discovered. His 
company, much reduced in numbers, soon after abandoned the 
expedition, and made its way down the Mississippi and along 
the Gulf coast to Mexico. 


26 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


36. Coronado seeks the Seven Cities of Cibola.’’ — An equally 
remarkable expedition was undertaken in 1540 by another little 
band of Spaniards under the lead of Coronado. It was reported 
that the four survivors of the ill-fated Narvaez company claimed 
that they had seen the famous “ Seven Cities of Cibola.” The 
inhabitants of these cities were said to be fabulously wealthy, 
and to live in magnificent stone houses and to use household 
utensils made of solid gold and silver. These reports beguiled 
Coronado and his followers into the interior. They found the 

Seven Cities,” but they also found that the people instead of 
dwelling in rnarble palaces lived in large communal houses 

Coronado’s ^^^ich were long, rude structures, large enough, in 
disappoint- some instances, to hold fifty families. The Spaniards 
failed to find the gold and silver which they sought 
so eagerly. These would-be conquerors “ beat for three years, 
up and down the southwestern wilderness,” a part of them 
reached the interior of what is now Kansas, and some of them 
gazed upon the Grand Canon of the Colorado. They finally 
realized that they were the victims of idle tales, and abandoned 
the project in 1 542. 

37. St. Augustine, the First Permanent Colony in the United 
States, founded, 1565 . — Up to this time the Spaniards had not 
succeeded in planting a colony on the Atlantic coast of North 
America. However, in 1565 they founded the first permanent 
colony in what is now the United States at St. Augustine, 
Florida.^ 

FACTS AND DATES 

1000 (about). America discovered by the Norsemen. 

1497. Vasco da Gama reaches India. 

1492. Columbus discovers America. 

1497. John Cabot reaches North America. 

1519-1522. Voyage of Magellan, 

1513. Balboa discovered the “South Sea” (Pacific Ocean). 

1541. De Soto discovered the Mississippi River. 

1565. St. Augustine founded. 


1 Vera Cruz had been founded in 1519, and Panama earlier still. 


CHAPTER III 


PHYSICAL FEATURES 

38. Physical Features have a Marked Influence upon the 
History of a Country. — From your study of geography you 
have learned that the physical features of a country have a very 
marked influence upon its history. The political, religious, and 
social life of the people is directly influenced by the soil, climate, 
and elevation of the country. The height of the mountains, the 
speed and depth of the rivers, and the nature of the seacoast 
have their influence upon the history of a nation. If an intelli- 
gent traveler had carefully studied the physical features of the 
United States, even before a single settlement had been made, 
he would have been able to foretell, to some extent, what the 
future history of the country would be. 

39. The Atlantic Coast is more Accessible than the Pacific. — 
By referring to the map, it will be seen that the highland of 
the United States is, for the most part, west of the Missis- 
sippi River. The Pacific coast is high and steep, has but few 
good harbors, San Diego, San Francisco, and Puget Sound, 
and it is thus very difficult to make a landing upon it. The 
eastern coast is more inviting. The Atlantic seaboard extends 
inland for about one hundred miles, and slopes gently up to 
the mountains. There are many excellent harbors scattered 
along the coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Galveston. 
The Pacific slope has few navigable rivers, while the Atlantic 
has many such. 

40. Exploration and Colonization were Easier from the East to 
the West. — It will be evident from what has been said and 
from a study of the map that the exploration and colonization 
of North America were very much easier from the east to the 

27 



Physical Map of 'i he Unitcd States 

28 



PHYSICAL FEATURES 


29 


west than they would have been in the opposite direction. 
Explorers from Europe easily gained a foothold upon the Atlan- 
tic coast They then found it possible to reach the interior 
of the continent by going up the St. Lawrence, the Potomac, 
the Hudson, or the James. These rivers led by easy portages 
to other waterways, and thus made it possible for explorers to 
reach all parts of the continent. The explorer might, for 
example, ascend the St. Lawrence River, pass on to the Great 
Lakes, and by carrying his canoe a short distance at any one 
of several places, reach the upper course of the Mississippi. 
By going down the Mississippi to the present site of St. Louis 
he could reach the mouth of the Missouri River, and by going 
up this river to its headwaters, and by carrying his canoe again 
for a short distance, he could reach the tributaries of the Colum- 
bia. By paddling down this river he could reach the Pacific, 
having crossed the continent almost entirely by water. By 
making use of the map you will be able to trace other routes 
which the early explorers might, and actually did, take into 
the interior, or even across the continent. 

Taking it all together, it seems now a very fortunate circum- 
stance that it was the eastern and not the western shore of the 
American continent that was first discovered by the Europeans. 

41. The Hudson River and Chesapeake Bay divide the Atlantic 
Seaboard into' Three Parts. — Although the eastern coast of the 
North American continent, taken as a whole, differs from the 
western, the physical features of the Atlantic border are by no 
means uniform. The north Atlantic coast differs very much 
from the south in this respect. It also happens that the 
Atlantic seaboard is divided into three great parts by the Hud- 
son River and the Chesapeake Bay and that these divisions were 
the seats of three distinct groups of colonies, — the New Eng- 
land colonies, the Middle colonies, and the Southern colonies. 
Since these groups differ in many ways, it will be convenient to 
tell the story of the colonization of these three great divisions 
separately. 


CHAPTER IV 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 

1607-1700 

42. Definition of a Colony. — A colony is composed of a 
number of people who go from their native land to make 
homes in a new country. They and their descendants may 
or may not remain under the control of the mother country. 

When a nation obtains territory by discovery or exploration, it 
usually wishes to get a firmer hold upon it by the establishment 
of colonies. It was so with the European nations in the six- 
teenth century. They were busy with plans of colonization for 
the New World. 

43. There are Six Motives for Colonization. — There are six 
principal motives which have led to the founding of colonies : 
(i) the desire for empire; (2) the love of adventure and enter- 
prise; (3) the desire for gain; (4) overpopulation; (5) an 
oppressive government; and (6) a desire for religious freedom. 
It will be interesting to note as we progress the extent to which 
these motives entered into the founding of the American colo- 
nies. In most instances two or more of them were combined. 

44. The Colony is sometimes Dependent upon the Mother Coun- 
try. — The relation between the colony and the mother country 
has not been the same in every instance. The old Greek idea 
was that the colony was a new state descended from the mother 
country. It was in no sense a dependency. It was bound to 
the mother country by certain natural ties of blood relationship 
and religion, but was independent in matters of government. 

The English idea of a colony in the seventeenth century was 
very different from the Greek idea. The English colony was 
governed by the mother country and was dependent upon her. 

30 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


31 


The colony was looked upon also as a source of revenue. It 
was compelled to pay taxes to the mother state and was ex- 
pected to furnish her a valuable trade. This narrow ^ , 

view of the relation of the colony to the home gov- idea of a 
ernment led to the separation of the American colo- 
nies at the time of the Revolution. 

England is now the most successful colonizing nation on the 
globe, but her policy is more liberal than it was in the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries. In speaking of the 
loss of the American colonies a recent English writer dealings ^ 

says : England learnt thereby the true mode of with her 

colonies are 

dealing with colonies. Her liberal colonial policy in more liberal 

the present century* which stands out in brilliant con- 

^ . . formerly. 

trast to the systems of other times and other nations. 

is the direct fruit of her greatest mistake and her most striking 

failure.’' 

45 . The Sea Rovers. — The first permanent English settlement 
in America was made at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. This 
was one hundred and ten years after John Cabot had 
made his famous voyage. Although England is gen- was late in 
erally very vigorous in the matter of colonization, she theToTonfza- 


was slow to follow up the advantage gained by the tion of 
voyage of John Cabot. There was a good reason for 
this. The Pope’s decree of 1493 had given North America to 
Spain, and as long as England was subject to the Pope and 
friendly to Spain, she did not wish to disregard this decree. 
Consequently the colonization of North America was not taken 
up in earnest by England until the time of Queen Elizabeth 
(1558-1603). 

The reign of Elizabeth was a brilliant period in English his- 
tory. It was a time of great material prosperity and intellectual 
vigor. Trade and industry flourished, and some of The reign of 
the greatest masterpieces in English literature were 
written. The people were active and enterpris- brilliant 
ing as they had never been before, and the achieve- 
ments of their daring seamen were brilliant in the extreme. Sir 


32 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Francis Drake made the second circumnavigation of the globe 
in 1577-1580, and Frobisher and Davis carried the English flag 
to the extreme northwest. These daring sea rovers, however, 
were intent upon exploration, gold hunting, and the plundering 
of Spanish ships, and apparently had no thought of colonization. 



Sir Walter Raleigh. 

The famous soldier, sea rover, and 
colonizer was born in England in 
1552. He was well educated, and 
for years a favorite at the court of 
Queen Elizabeth. In 1603 he was 
convicted of treason and imprisoned 
in the Tower for thirteen years. He 
was then released, but in 1618 was 
beheaded on the old charge of fifteen 
years before. He was one of the first 
to introduce tobacco into England. 


46 . Gilbert and Raleigh attempt 
to found Colonies, but Fail. — Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert, a member of 
Parliament, was the first English- 
man to attempt to found a colony 
in the New World. He was a 
good man and deserved better suc- 
cess, and a less tragic fate. In 
1579 he and his stepbrother, Wal- 
ter Raleigh, went to Newfound- 
land, being attracted, no doubt, by 
the fisheries, and attempted to es- 
tablish a colony there. They failed. 
Four years later (1583) Gilbert 
went to the same place and found 
that four hundred vessels, most of 
them owned by the Spaniards and 
Portuguese, were engaged in the 
Newfoundland fisheries. He loaded 
one of his ships with rock supposed 
to contain silver ore and set out for 
home. His ship, the Golden Hind^ 


was lost on the voyage, and Gilbert went down with her. The 
companion ship, bearing the worthless rock, came to port in safety. 

Raleigh persevered and spent a fortune of forty thousand 
pounds in the attempt to found a colony in America. He deter- 
mined to abandon Newfoundland and to go to the milder climate 
... of the South, and in 1584 he sent two vessels under 

named, the command of Amadas and Barlowe to the south 

1584- Atlantic coast. These men explored the shore for a 

considerable distance, and the country was named ‘‘Virginia” 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


33 


in honor of Elizabeth, the maiden queen. They made no settle- 
ment, but came into contact with the Indians and reported them 
to be “people most gentle, loving, and faithful.” Later colonists 
had a different story to tell. 

In the following year (1585) Raleigh sent out another fleet of 
eight vessels, carrying one hundred and eight colonists, under 
the command of Sir Richard Grenville. Grenville scoured’ the 
seas and plundered the ships of the Spaniards for some time and 
finally landed his company on Roanoke Island. They 
were not good material for a colony. They enjoyed colony at 
the chase and capture of a rich Spanish ship, and the ^ 

search for gold mines, but agriculture was riot to their 
liking. They were also depressed by homesickness, and in 1586 
Sir Francis Drake touched at Roanoke and carried the entire 
company back to England. A few days after their departure 
a supply ship sent by Raleigh found the place deserted. About 
two weeks later Grenville returned to the spot and left fifteen 
men to the lonesome task of retaining possession of the site. 
So this expedition ended in practical failure. 

Raleigh was not discouraged, but in 1587 sent out another 
expedition, this time at his own expense, as the queen had had 
enough of the business. They came to the Carolina coast, but 
could find no trace of the fifteen men. “At Roanoke, deer 
were quietly grazing in a field fertilized by the bones of Gren- 
ville’s contingent of the year before, and the fort was founds 
in ruins.” John White was in command of the expe- another 
dition, and on August 18, his daughter, Eleanor 
Dare, gave birth to a child which was named Virginia Carolina 
in honor of the new country. This child was 
the first one born of English parents on American soil. Leav- 
ing a colony of eighty-nine men, women, and children, White 
returned to England in the same year (1587). 

47. The Defeat of the Armada humbled Spain and made England 
more .Powerful. — Stirring times were coming on in Europe. 
Catholic Spain had been the leading nation of the world, and 
now Protestant England was about to challenge her supremacy. 


34 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The other nations, keenly sympathetic with the one side or the 
other, looked on with interest. They had not long to wait. In 
1588 the Spanish fleet, the so-called “ Invincible Armada,” set 
out to destroy the English navy. The result is well known. 



Gulf of 
St. Lawrence 




Jj. 0 n t a r 


siJamestown 


ROANOKE I, 


SCALE OF MILES 


L.L.POATES, FNGR'Q CO., N.r. 


Grants of Land to the London and Plymouth Companies, 1606. 

The grants were as follows: — London Company (or Branch), 34°~4i°; Plymouth 
Company (or Branch), 38°-45°; common to both, 38^-41°. According to the char- 
ter of 1606 the grant of land extended inland a distance of one hundred miles and 
also included all islands within one hundred miles of the coast. In 1609 the Lon- 
don Company was separated from the Plymouth and its domain was said to extend 
“ from sea to sea, west and northwest,” and to include the coast islands as before. 
Under this charter of 1609 Virginia later claimed land northwest of the Ohio River. 


The Armada was defeated and almost totally destroyed by the 
English fleet aided by severe storms. When Grenville returned 
from America in 1587, the clash was about to come. There 
could be no thought of colonization in such a time, and the 
unfortunate people of Roanoke were left to shift for themselves 
for three years. White returned to the place in 1590, only to 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


35 


find that the colonists, including his daughter and granddaughter, 
Virginia Dare, had disappeared. They had probably been 
massacred or had gone to live with the Indians, and are spoken 
of to this day as Raleigh’s “ lost colony.” 

48. Trading Companies, when Individuals failed, were organized 
to found Colonies. — It soon became evident that colonization 
in America was too large an enterprise for individuals to under- 
take. The personal efforts of Gilbert and Raleigh had failed, 
and the next step was to organize companies for the purpose of 
founding colonies. On April lo, 1606, King James I granted a 
charter to a company consisting of two branches or London 
parts. One of these branches had its headquarters Company, 
at London and was known as the London Company. 

To this company the king gave the right to occupy a tract of 
land one hundred miles square, situated anywhere between 
34° and 41° north latitude. 

The other company, with headquarters at Plymouth, and 

hence called the Plymouth Company, obtained a similar grant 

between 38° and 45° north latitude. The domain of the London 

Company thus extended from Long Island on the 

north to the mouth of the Cape Fear River on the Plymouth ’ 

south, while that of the Plymouth extended from Company, • 

^ 38° to 45°. 

the northern boundary of New York to the mouth of 

the Potomac River. It will be noticed that there was an over- 
lapping of three degrees, but to avoid conflict it was provided 
that neither company should establish a settlement between 38° 
and 41° nearer than one hundred miles to one already estab- 
lished within this zone. 

49. The King governed the Colonies. — The government of the 
colonies was placed in the hands of the king. Each colony was 
to have a governing council of thirteen men, residing in America, 
and appointed by the king from among the colonists. Over 
each of these local councils there was to be another council 
residing in England, composed of fourteen men, and also 
appointed by the king. 

The councils in America were subject to any rules which the 


36 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


king might see fit to make. In accordance with this clause the 
king sent some very definite instructions with the body of colo- 
nists sent out by the London Company. These in- 

The king . y 

gave royal structions provided that the supremacy of the king 

instructions. of the Church of England should be main- 

tained. They also provided for trial by jury and set forth the 
way in which land should be held. The penalties for certain 
offenses were also fixed. It was agreed that the proceeds of 
the enterprise were to go to the Company for twenty-one years 
and then to the king. It will be noticed that the power of the 
king, under the charter, was absolute. The Company was very 
anxious to obtain favorable trading privileges, but cared little 
for the political freedom of the colonists. Money was appar- 
ently more important than self-government. And yet, we shall 
see, as we proceed, that the king was too weak to profit much 
by the vast power given to him by the charter, and that the 
colonists really did obtain a large measure of self-government. 
It should also be said that the colonists were guaranteed the 
rights of Englishmen before the courts. 

Virginia, 1607 

50. Jamestown, the First English Colony in America, founded, 
1607. — The London Company was the first to move under the 
new charter. On December 19, 1606, one hundred and forty- 
three colonists embarked for the New World under the command 
of Christopher Newport. Among the noted men of the com- 
pany were Gosnold, the navigator, Wingfield, a merchant, and 
John Smith, a brave but boastful soldier whose ability was 
destined to save the colony from destruction. Land was sighted 
on the 1 6th of April, 1607, and soon after, the company sailed 
up the river which they named the James in honor of the king. 
On the 13th of May they landed on the north bank of the river, 
about forty or fifty miles above its mouth, and there selected the 
site for their colony, which they named Jamestown. Captain 
Newport and a small party went on an exploring expedition to 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


37 


the present site of Richmond, and on June 22 their leader 
went back to England. 

Wingfield was chosen president, but after the departure of New- 
port he found it impossible to control the colony and was removed 
from office. Things 
were in a bad way. 

The colonists were 
quarrelsome and not 

industrious. << Oentle- 

About one men ’’were 

poor mate- 

half of them rial for a 
were ‘‘gen- colony. 

tlemen,” so-called, and 
not accustomed to 
work with their hands. 

They had come to 
America to find gold 
mines and get rich 
rapidly, but not to till 
the soil. They were 
generally inclined to 
lawlessness. A play 
written in 1605 sets 
forth the views of 
American colonists in 
a somewhat exagger- 
ated way. One of the 
characters, in speak- 
ing of the New World, 
says : “ Gold is more 
plentiful there than 
copper is with us. . . 



SCALE OF MILES 


L.L.POATES, ENGR'S C0« ^. Y. 


The Southern Colonies. 

The English controlled the entire coast represented 
in the above map from Maryland to Georgia. St. 
Augustine (1565) was Spanish. 

Why, man, all their dripping-pans are 
pure gold, and all chains with which they chain up their streets 
are massive gold ; all the prisoners they take are fettered in 
gold ; and for rubies and diamonds, they go forth on holy days 
and gather them by the seashore, to hang on their children’s 


38 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


coats and stick in their children’s caps.” It was apparently the 
idea of the colonist that all he had to do in America was to eat, 
drink, and be merry. He soon found, however, that 
such was not the case. Within two weeks from the 
time of the landing the Indians made an attack upon 
the settlement. Disease lurked in the swamps, the 
water was bad, and the heat was intense. One half 
of the colonists died during the first summer, and the outlook 
for Jamestown was a gloomy one. 


The 

colonists 
wished to 
find gold, 
but not to 
till the soil. 



The Site of Jamestown as it appeared in 1859. 

Jamestown was built upon low land. It was unhealthful and difficult to 
defend against the Indians. A great many of the people died and the 
colony was partly supported from England for several years. During 
Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 the town was burned and never rebuilt. In 
the picture are seen the ruins of the brick church tower, all that remains. 

51. John Smith was the Savior of the Colony. — At this time 
John Smith appeared as the savior of the colony. Smith was 
vain, boastful, and deceitful, but he was at the same time a man 
of courage, energy, and ability. When he became president he 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


39 


put the idlers at work and declared that “ he that will not work 
shall not eat.” He drilled the men, repaired the fortifications, 
and explored the surrounding country. For two years Smith was 
the mainspring of the Jamestown colony, and undoubtedly saved 
it from failure. He was shrewd enough to see the real difficulty, 
and he pleaded with the Company in London to send carpen- 
ters, blacksmiths, masons, and 
gardeners instead of the ‘'gentle- 
men, goldsmiths, and libertines,” 
already there. The Company, 
however, complained of the small 
profits of the enterprise and was 
slow to see that “the air of Vir- 
ginia could work no charm to 
turn idle spendthrifts into hard- 
working settlers.” 

52. New Charter is granted, 

1609. — On May 23, 1609, a new 
charter was given to the colony. 

The boundaries of the grant of 
land were more definitely set 
forth, and it was stated that the 
domain extended from “sea to 
sea, west and northwest.” The 
government was also somewhat 
simplified. The power was now 
placed in the hands of a single 
council, appointed originally by 
the king, but with vacancies filled by the Company. 

In England an effort was made to arouse an interest in the 

Jamestown colony. Sermons were preached in its behalf, and 

pamphlets were printed for the same purpose. More 

immigrants came; “unruly gallants,” said Smith, but 

he put them to work. The severest blow which the wretched- 
ness. 

colony suffered in its early days was the departure 

of John Smith for England in October, 1609. The strong arm 



Captain John Smith. 

“The Savior of the Jamestown Col- 
ony ” was born in England in 1579. He 
was a soldier and led a life of thrilling 
adventure. He was a natural leader. 
He wrote several books, one of which 
was “The True Travels, Adventures, 
and Observations of Captain John 
Smith in Europe, Asia, Africa, and 
America.” He died in London in 1631. 


40 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


was taken away and was not returned. After Smith’s depar- 
ture the colony sank into a wretched condition. It suffered from 
disease, Indian attacks, and, worst of all, from laziness. The 
colonists were so shiftless that they chopped up their houses for 
fuel although they were living in a dense wilderness. Affairs 
were in a desperate condition and the colony was about to be 
abandoned in i6io, the year after Smith’s departure. 

53. Lord Delaware a Good Governor. — Lord Delaware, the 
new governor, arrived just in time to prevent the step. Dela- 
ware was an able and energetic man and soon infused new life 
into the colony. He found Jamestown ‘‘a forlorn ruin full of 
dead men’s bones,” but soon caused things to take on a new 
form. The little church, which had been abandoned, was en- 
larged and repaired and the worship of God was resumed. 
Fresh misfortunes, however, were* in store for the distressed 
colonists. The well from which they drew their water supply 
was shallow and probably foul, and a large amount of sickness 
was the result. Delaware became unpopular and left James- 
town in the March after his arrival. 

54. Governor Dale restored Law and Order. — Delaware was 
succeeded in i6ii by Sir Thomas Dale, a man of vigor and 
even of harshness. Dale brought with him a code of martial 
law and soon reduced the colony to order. His vigor was nec- 
essary, as the “ starving time ” was not yet over. New immigrants 
of a more useful class, including servants and workingmen, 
arrived, and the condition of affairs improved under Dale’s 
government. 

55. The Virginia House of Burgesses was the First Representa- 
tive Legislature ever convened in America, July 30 , 1619 . — The 

little colony had a long list of governors, — some good and some 
bad, — but continued on the whole to advance and to increase in 
strength. Governor Yeardley arrived in the spring of 1619, and 
under his direction some very important changes were made. 
On July 30, 1619, the first House of Burgesses was assembled. 
This assembly is notable as being the first representative legisla- 
ture ever convened in America. It was made up of twenty-two 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


41 


‘‘burgesses,” or representatives, there being two from each of 
the eleven “towns, plantations, and hundreds.” 

66. Slavery introduced, 1619. — In the same year slavery was 
introduced into America. A Dutch vessel sailed up the James 
River in the summer of 1619 and sold twenty negro slaves to 
the colonists. The seeds of the great Civil War of 1861-1865 
were thus sown at this time. 

The colony continued to flourish, and in 1620 it contained 
about three thousand people. Tobacco was the staple crop and 
for a time was used as money. The Church of England was 
the principal church. Women came, and family life was 
established. 

57 . The Indians, at first Friendly, became Hostile. — The 

colony suffered somewhat from Indian attacks. The Indians of 
North America were much more savage than those which the 
Spaniards had met in the South. They were, however, at first 
very friendly to Smith and his followers. Powhatan was the 
famous chief of the red men in the vicinity of Jamestown, and 
his daughter Pocahontas married John Rolfe, a young English- 
man. But in 1618 Powhatan died, and his brother, who suc- 
ceeded him, was not so cordial. The relations between the 
Indians and the white men became unfriendly, and in 1622 a 
fight between a colonist and a red man brought on an Indian 
attack. About three hundred and seventy colonists were slain, 
and the very life of Jamestown was in danger. Such an attack 
would probably have been fatal during the “ starving time ” 
which followed the departure of John Smith. 

58 . The Charter withdrawn, 1624. — In the following year the 
king, who was not friendly to the Company, demanded the sur- 
render of the charter, and on June 16, 1624, the court declared 
the charter null and void. The colony now passed under the 
absolute and immediate control of the king, and the Company 
was deprived of its rights. The act of the king was tyrannical 
and harsh, but it worked for the good of the people in the 
end. The colony was not interfered with, and great advance- 
ments were made in self-government. 


42 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


59. Governor Berkeley was an Able but Narrow Man. — Of 

the later governors Sir William Berkeley was one of the most 
notable. He was a man of ability, yet narrow-minded. In 
1671 he wrote a description of the colony as it was in 1670. 
He placed the population at forty thousand, and urged the 
ministers to pray oftener and preach less.” He showed his 
hostility to education by writing, I thank God there are no 
free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have these 
hundred years.” 

60. A Period of Gloom followed by Prosperity. — The latter 
part of the seventeenth century was a gloomy period in the 
colony notwithstanding the fact that the people were, for the 
most part, under able governors. During the administration of 
Governor Francis Nicholson riots and other disorders prevailed, 
and hangings were numerous. Nicholson said of the people that 
he would “beat them into better manners” or “bring them to 
reason with halters about their necks.” 

Yet the colony grew, and in 1700 the population had reached 
nearly one hundred thousand. Education, too, was not entirely 
neglected, as William and Mary College was founded 
at Williamsburg in 1693. This was the second col- 
lege founded in America, Harvard being the first, 
in 1636. The success of the colony was now well as- 
sured, as the people had settled down to agriculture and the 
fever for gold hunting had largely passed away. Popular gov- 
ernment, too, was growing stronger. 

Maryland, 1634 

61. Lord Baltimore proposes to found a Colony on a Religious 
Basis. — While these events were occurring in Virginia, another 
colony of a different character was being founded a short dis- 
tance to the north. George Calvert, or Lord Baltimore, was a 
member of the Virginia Company, and came to the conclusion 
that a colony on a purely commercial basis could not succeed. 
He therefore made up his mind to found one in which religion 


William 
and Mary 
College 
founded, 
1693. 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


43 


should play an important part. Calvert was a Roman Catholic 
and a great favorite at the court of the king, and obtained from 
Charles I a grant of land of indefinite boundaries, lying to the 
north of the Potomac River. He also got a very liberal charter 
for the government of any colonies which he might found. He 
was to pay a yearly rent of two Indian arrowheads, and to give 
to the king one fifth of all the gold and silver which he might 
find. The power of the proprietor over the colonists Avas prac- 
tically absolute. The land in the grant was named Maryland, 
at the king’s request, in honor of the queen, Henrietta Maria. 

Lord Baltimore died before taking steps to colonize the new 
land, and his rights under the charter descended to Mary’s 
his son Cecil. In November, 1633, Cecil Calvert sent founded, 
out his brother Leonard with about two hundred 
colonists, and in the following March they founded St. Mary’s 
on the Potomac River. 

62 . Religious Toleration is granted, 1649. — The proprietor 
was a Roman Catholic, but many of the colonists were Protes- 
tants and were granted religious toleration. The result was 
that they were contented and the colony prospered. Oppressed 
religious sects soon came from all quarters to seek a haven of 
refuge in the new colony. They were not disappointed. In 
1649 Ihe famous Toleration Act was passed which provided that 
no Christian should be interfered with in any way in the prac- 
tice of his religion. This liberal and enlightened statute was 
the cause of much of the prosperity of the colony. The people 
also gained a degree of self-government and had a representa- 
tive legislature which was divided into two houses, or chambers, 
in 1650. 

63 . Maryland became a Royal Province, 1691. — In a short 
time a marked change took place. In 1691 Maryland became 
a royal province, with the government vested in the crown. 
The Church of England was made the established church, other 
Protestant sects were frowned upon, and the Catholics were 
persecuted. The capital of the colony was moved from St. 
Mary’s, which was a Catholic center, to Annapolis, which was 


44 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


controlled by members of the Church of England. Thus a very 
great change was made in the original plans of Lord Baltimore. 
The change was not for the good of the colony. Its prosperity 
declined until i/iS, when the heirs of Lord Baltimore were 
restored to power. 

In 1729 the city of Baltimore was founded and soon became 
an important commercial seaport. 


The Carolinas, 1663 


64. The Carolina Grant, 1663. — There was an immense 
tract of territory lying to the south of Virginia which had not 
as yet been given to any company or proprietor, and in 1663 
Charles II gave the Carolinas to a group of eight of his friends, 
of whom the Earl of Clarendon and Governor William Berkeley 
of Virginia were members. In 1665 the boundaries were speci- 

Caroiina more definitely as extending from 36° 30' on the 

named by north to 2Q° Oil the south. The country had been 
jeanRibaut. Carolina by Jean Ribaut a century before this 

time in honor of Charles IX of France, and as a Charles was 
now on the throne of England, there was no need of a change 
in the name. 

65. North Carolina was an Offshoot of Virginia. — A settle- 
ment had already been made on Albemarle Sound, the first per- 
manent one within the present boundaries of North 
Carolina. In 1653 Roger Green had led a small 
band of followers from Virginia and had made the 
settlement. North Carolina was thus an offshoot 
from Virginia. It was provided in the grant given 

to Berkeley and others that the proprietors should recognize 
the claims of Green and his followers. 

In 1664 the colony of Clarendon was established farther to 
the south, on the Cape Fear River. It was not the intention 
that two different colonies should be founded, but since the 
two settlements at Albemarle and Clarendon were so far apart, 
it was found convenient to give them separate governments. 


Albemarle 
the first 
permanent 
settlement 
in North 
Carolina. 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


45 


William Drummond was appointed governor of the Albemarle 
settlement after it had been organized by Governor Berkeley of 
Virginia. John Yeamans was made governor of Clar- darendon 
endon. The colonists were given self-government on founded, 
a simple plan, although the power of the proprietors 
under the charter was nearly absolute. 

The rich soil and the profitable trade in lumber and fur at- 
tracted many settlers to the Carolinas, and others, not so desir- 
able, were attracted by the peculiar laws. It was decreed that 
no debts contracted abroad before coming to the Carolinas 
could be collected there. This law served to bring many who 
wished to escape the payment of debt. 

66. Locke’s Constitutions a Failure. — In 1669 the proprietors 
asked John Locke, the great English scholar, to draw up a 
form of government for the Carolinas. He did so, and the 
result was the famous Fundamental Constitutions ^ which have 
been ridiculed ever since. The scheme was complex and un- 
practical and was never put into operation. It could not be. It 
provided for “ landgraves ” and caciques ” and other unheard- 
of orders of nobility which were impossible in the wilderness of 
the New World. The result of the whole matter was to make 
many of the settlers disgusted with every kind of government. 

67. Charleston founded, 1670-1671. — The site of the Claren- 
don colony on the Cape Fear River was not a good one, and the 
settlement did not prosper. In 1670-1671 William Sayle made 
a settlement where Charleston now stands. The site was an 
excellent one, and the place soon became the most important 
one in South Carolina. 

The southern settlements in Carolina were the more promis- 
ing, and hence more attention was given to them. Englishmen 
came from the Bahamas, Virginia, and New England, Protes- 
tants came from France, and Scotch Presbyterians made a 
settlement at Port Royal, which was destroyed by the Spaniards 
in 1686. 

68. Ludwell the First Governor of the Two Provinces, 1691. — 

In 1691 Philip Ludwell became the first governor of the two 


46 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


provinces. He had a difficult time. Many of the settlers were 
dishonest debtors and worthless adventurers, and the governor 
was not equal to the task of controlling them. In 1695, how- 
ever, John Archdale, a sensible Quaker, was made gov- 
ernor, and peace and prosperity followed. The factions ceased 
their quarrels, and there was religious toleration for all Chris- 
tians except Roman Catholics. Yet even with this increase in 
prosperity the Carolina colonies were still weak at the close of 

Carolina century. Sometimes they had separate govern- 

divided, ors, and sometimes one man was governor of both. 

In 1729 they were divided and became separate and 
distinct royal provinces, having been sold to the king by the 
proprietors. 

Georgia, 1733 


69. Georgia was founded by Oglethorpe, 1733. — Georgia was 
the last of the thirteen English colonies to be established on the 
coast of North America. Its founding was due, not to commerce 
or religion, but to charity; and its founder was James Edward 
Oglethorpe, one of the greatest and best men of his time. 
Oglethorpe was an Oxford University man, and was prominent 
in the public life of England for nearly three quarters of a 
century. He was a member of Parliament and had been chair- 
man of a committee of the House of Commons to visit the 
prisons. His humane and sympathetic nature was touched by 
the terrible sufferings which the prisoners were compelled to 
undergo. It was the custom at the time in England to imprison 
men for debt, and the unfortunate debtors appealed especially 
to Oglethorpe. He conceived the idea of founding a colony in 
America where the best of these debtors could go 

A colony . . . 

composed and begin life anew. He also thought that it would 

dTb^tors^^ be a good idea to place his colony south of those 

already planted, so that it might serve as a bulwark 
against the Spaniards in Florida. The colony of Georgia was 
thus the result of two ideas of which the charitable one was the 
more important. . Oglethorpe would also have his colony take 


THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 


47 


part in the profitable fur trade with the Cherokee Indians, but 
this also was a matter of less importance. 

70. The Land Grant and the Form of Government. — Before 
Oglethorpe could begin this enterprise it was necessary that 
a large sum of money be raised. The prisoners could not be 
taken away until their debts were paid, and the cost of making 
the expedition to the New World and of founding the colony 
would be considerable. Oglethorpe succeeded in getting a 
number of wealthy and charitable men interested in his reform 
colony, and a grant of land was obtained extending 

from the Savannah to the Altamaha River. The grant nam?d 1 for 
was named Georgia in honor of King George II. ^ 

The governmental power was placed in the hands of 
the company, or trustees, as they were called, as the unfortunate 
debtors were not considered capable of governing themselves. 
The charter had many excellent features, but it was found im- 
possible to put some of them into force. Slavery was prohibited, 
the importation of rum was forbidden, and no one man was 
permitted to own more than five hundred acres of land. Re- 
ligious toleration was granted to all sects except the Roman 
Catholics. 

71. The Colony started. — In November, 1732, Oglethorpe 
set out with thirty-five families, and in February following he 
founded the city of Savannah. This was the starting point of 
the new colony. He did not take the land away from the 
Indians by force, as many others had done, but he made an 
alliance with the Creeks and treated them with justice. 

It was soon seen that the unfortunate debtors were not good 
material for the making of a colony. They had failed in Eng- 
land, and most of them did the same in America. ^ 

Hence Oglethorpe sought new and better colonists proved poor 
to strengthen his enterprise. In 1734 some thrifty 
and industrious German Protestants came, and these 
furnished an excellent example to the shiftless debtors. Scotch 
Highlanders also came, and these, too, were a vast improvement 
over the original colonists. Ebenezer, Augusta, and Frederica 


48 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


were founded, and the fur trade with the Indians became 
profitable. 

It was the intention of the trustees to make silk culture an 
important feature of the colony. The mulberry tree was to be 
Silk culture Cultivated and the silkworm bred, and silkworms 
a failure. were placed on the seal of the colony as a symbol 
of its most important industry. The whole project, however, 
was a failure. 

In 1743 Oglethorpe went to England, never to return to 
Georg:ia. After his departure matters went from bad to 
The debtors were discontented and troublesome, but 
the Scotch and Germans were thrifty and contented. 
It was found impossible to exclude slaves and rum, 
as these were smuggled over the borders from other 
colonies. The Rum Act was repealed about the 
time of Oglethorpe’s departure, and slaves were admitted in 
1 749. 

72. Georgia made a Royal Province. — The charter was sur- 
rendered to the king in 1752 , and Georgia became a royal prov- 
ince. This change was beneficial in many ways. At this time 
Georgia, although a fairly successful colony, was not a strong 
one. The whites numbered about twenty-four hundred and the 
blacks about eleven hundred. The silk culture had proved a 
failure ; the debtors had been a disappointment ; but the gen- 
eral condition of the colony was fairly satisfactory. Rice and 
indigo were raised with success, and the lumber and fur trades 
were profitable. 


fc» 

worse. 

Oglethorpe 
returned to 
England in 
1743- 


FACTS AND DATES 

1607. Jamestown founded. 

1619. Virginia House of Burgesses organized. 

Slavery introduced into Virginia. 

1634. St. Mary’s founded. 

1663. Carolina Grants made. 

1729. The Carolinas separated. 

1733. Savannah founded. 


CHAPTER V 


THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 

1620-1700 

73. The Early New England Colonists sought Religious Free- 
dom in America. — The history of New England forms a strik- 
ing contrast to that of the South. The southern colonies were 
founded, for the most part, on a commercial basis. It is true, 
of course, that religion had much to do with the colonization of 
Maryland, and that Georgia was founded primarily for unfortu- 
nate debtors; but as a rule the southern colonies were estab- 
lished by trading companies who wished to make money in the 
business. In New England there was a very different motive. 
The early settlers came to that locality, not for the purpose of 
gain, but that they might worship God in their own way. In 
England at the time they were not permitted to do this. 

74. John Smith explores the New England Coast, 1614 . — 
John Smith returned to America in 1614, and after exploring 
the northeastern coast, gave to the country the name which it 
still bears, New England.” Aside from the explorations of 
Smith there was very little activity about New England for 
several years. Men were afraid of the climate of the North and 
preferred to go to Virginia. The fisheries, however, did attract 
some hardy navigators, and a few fishing boats were sent out 
by the Plymouth Company. In 1620 the Company got a new 
charter giving it the land between 40° and 48° north latitude. 
It was subsequently known as the Council for New England, 
but the change of name does not seem to have stirred it to much 
activity. 


49 


50 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND (GOVERNMENT 


Plymouth 

75 . The Plymouth Colony is founded, 1620. — The first per- 
manent colony in New England was founded at Plymouth, in 
Massachusetts, in 1620, but its founding was not due to the 
activity of the colonizing company. It was almost accidental, as 
we shall see later. 

The founding of this colony leads us to the story of the Pil- 
grim Fathers.” In order to get a clear understanding of the 
causes which led the Pilgrims to come to America, it will be 
necessary to note briefly the various sects or divisions into which 
the Protestants of England were divided at the time. Many of 
these Protestants were members of the Church of England, or 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as we call it in the United 
States. But there was also a large number of sincere and ear- 
nest Protestants who did not conform in every respect to the 
Church of England. Some of these wished to remain in the 
Church, but were desirous of ‘‘ purifying ” it, as they said, and 
hence were called Puritans.” These men were very strict and 
rigid in the observance of what seemed to them to be their 
religious duties. In addition to the Puritans there was another 
body of Protestants who considered the purification of the Eng- 
lish Church to be a hopeless task, and who, as a result of this 
view, determined to separate themselves from it. These were 
called Separatists ” or Independents.” It was a company 
of Separatists who founded the first permanent colony in New 
England, as we shall soon see. 

There was no religious toleration in England at the time of 
which we are speaking. The Catholics were persecuted under 
Edward VI, and the Protestants under Mary, while under Eliza- 
beth and her immediate successors all who did not conform to 
the Established Church of England were punished very severely. 
James I, who came to the throne in 1603, was especially harsh 
toward all who would not conform to his Church. ‘‘ I will make 
them conform,” he exclaimed in anger, “ or I will harry them 
out of this land, or else worse.” 


THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 


51 



The New England colonies, founded in 16:0 and la'.er, had an individu- 
ality peculiar to themselves. This individuality has been retained to 
some extent to the present day. 


In their distress many of the oppressed people thought of 
going to Holland, where they might have religious freedom, and 


52 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The 

“ Pilgrim 
Fathers ” 
go from 
Scrooby to 
Holland and 
thence to 
America. 


in 1608 the congregation from the town of Scrooby in north 
central England went to Amsterdam under the leadership of 
their able and beloved pastor, John Robinson. The 
little flock was a sincere and devoted band, quite 
different from the gentlemen and idlers who had 
gone to Jamestown the year before. After remaining 
in Amsterdam a short time they went to Leyden. 
Here they found the religious freedom which they 
were seeking, but they were not contented. They were ‘‘ stran- 
gers in a strange land.” They were being influenced some- 
what by their surroundings, and their children were slowly 
adopting Dutch customs. This they regretted, for they were 
Englishmen and dearly loved the country from which they had 
been driven. They accordingly determined to go to America, 
where they could worship God in their own way and still live 
as Englishmen. They made arrangements with the Virginia 
Company for the planting of a colony near the present location 
of New Jersey. 

A part of the congregation left Holland in 1620 and stopped 
in England on the way to America. After a short delay they 
set sail for the lonely Jersey shores in two ships, the Speedzvell 
and the Mayflozver. They had not gone far when it was dis- 
covered that the Speedzvell was unseaworthy. They put back 
to England, and on September 16, 1620, the Mayflozver set sail 
alone on her memorable voyage with about one hundred per- 
sons on board. The voyage was a stormy one, and the little 
boat just narrowly missed going to the bottom. On Novem- 
ber 19 they saw the shores of Massachusetts. The captain 
had lost his reckonings, and contrary winds had driven them 
The farther north than they wished to go. Instead of 

Fafhe^ landing they turned toward the south, but being 

land, Dec. uiiable to make much headway, they returned to 
21, 1620. Massachusetts coast, and on December 21, 1620, 

landed at the spot which John Smith had called Plymouth — 
tradition says on '' Plymouth Rock.” 

About a month before the landing the colonists felt the need 


THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 


53 


of some kind of an agreement in regard to their government. 
Hence they assembled in the cabin of their ship and 

^ ^ . The “May- 

signed the famous ‘‘Mayflower Compact.” By this flower com- 

they declared that they had formed “a civil body 

politic ” and that they would make just laws for the general 

good. This famous compact was signed by forty-one adult males 

of the company. 





Landing of the Pilgrims. 

WTen the Pilgrims landed on the bleak New England shore in 1620, they fell 
on their knees and thanked God for preserving them from the perils of the 
ocean. 

76. Early Trials of the Plymouth Colonists. — John Carver 
was the first governor of the colony, but he died in less than a 
year, and was succeeded by William Bradford, one of the ablest 
and best men in American colonial history. Bradford served 
the colony as governor almost continuously until his death in 
1657 . We are also indebted to him for an excellent history 
of the Plymouth colony. Elder William Brewster and Myles 
Standish, the famous soldier, were among the leading men of 
the colony. 






54 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Building homes on the bleak New England coast in midwinter 
was a very serious matter, but the courage of the Pilgrims did 
not fail them. The trials of the first winter were very severe. 
At one time only six or seven of the entire company were able 
to care for the sick and bury the dead, and when spring came 
about one half of the whole number were in their graves. Yet 
the brave hearts of the Pilgrims did not falter. They put in 
crops and built houses and made ready for the coming winter. 
It is a notable fact, too, that when the Mayflower returned to 



Pilgrims going to Church. 

The Pilgrims were a very religious people. The Church was their 
most important institution, and they were regular in attendance. 

Their guns were necessary for defense against the Indians. 

England in the spring of 1621, not a single colonist returned 
with her. The colonists obtained a grant of land from the 
Council for New England, into whose territory they had chanced 
to come, and they also made suitable arrangements with the 
Indians. After the harvests of the first year had been gathered 
they appointed a day of thanksgiving and prayer — the first 
Thanksgiving Day ever observed in America. 

77. Other Towns established. — Other settlements were estab- 
lished in the vicinity of Plymouth, and it is a noticeable fact that 
even at this early time the life of New England was a town life. 



THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 


55 


In the South the people were spread out over isolated planta- 
tions, but in New England they clustered around the “meeting 
house.” 

In 1643 the Plymouth colony consisted of eight towns with a 

population of three thousand people. In 1670 the Plymouth is 

number had risen to eight thousand, and in 1691 the 

® .... Massachu- 

colony lost its identity by being joined to Massachu- setts Bay 
setts Bay Colony, which had sprung up around the 
present site of Boston. 

Massachusetts Bay Colony 

78 . Charter granted to Massachusetts Bay Company, 1629. — 
A new king, Charles I, came to the throne of England in 1625. 
He was no more tolerant in religious matters than his predeces- 
sors had been. In addition to religious intolerance he oppressed 
the people very severely in matters of government. This caused 
many Puritans to seek new homes in America. In 1628 John 
Endicott established a settlement on the Massachusetts coast at 
a place which the Indians had called Naumkeag, but which he 
changed to Salem, meaning “ Peace.” The most important steps 
in the colonization of New England, however, were taken at a later 
time. In 1629 a charter was obtained from the king, incorpo- 
rating the Massachusetts Bay Company. This company was 
destined to do important things. 

79 . Boston and Other Towns settled, 1630; the “Puritan 
Exodus.” — The charter was granted at a very favorable time. 
In 1629 King Charles made up his mind that he would rule 
absolutely and give the people no part in the government. He 
consequently dismissed Parliament in that year and Twenty 
summoned no other until 1640. During these years 

of oppression the great “ Puritan Exodus ” took place, leave Eng- 
during which twenty thousand people left England . 

® r r & America in 

and sailed for America. Soon after the granting of about ten 

the charter (April, 1630), John Winthrop, one of 

the best of men, sailed for Salem. He left Salem almost 


56 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


immediately after his arrival and went to the present site of 
Boston. During this year about one thousand colonists came. 
This was the most important attempt yet made in the coloniza- 
tion of the New World. The stream thus started continued 
to flow for ten years. Settlements were made at Watertown, 
Roxbury, Newtown, Boston, and other places in that locality. 
Eight distinct settlements were made within a single year, and 
in September, 1630, Boston was made the capital of the colony. 
In 1634 the colony had four thousand inhabitants scattered 
in twenty towns. 



An Indian Welcome on the Charles River. 

The Indian would have been much less hostile toward the 
colonists if he had been treated fairly. In this instance he is 
meeting the white settlers with a present instead of a tomahawk. 


Although the Massachusetts Bay Colony prospered as no 

The Puritans America had done before, its policy in re- 

wouid not ligious and political matters was exceedingly narrow, 
allow reh- ' y\\q Puritans came to America to find religious free- 

gious tolera- ^ 

tion. dom for themselves, but would not tolerate views in 



t 


THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 


57 


politics or religion which were different from their own. With 
them the Church and the State were inseparably connected, 
and no one not a church member was allowed to vote. The 
Quakers and other religious sects were harshly • dealt with. 
Sometimes they were imprisoned, sometimes hanged on Boston 
Common, and sometimes driven with lashes out of the colony. 
The Puritans of Massachusetts were thrifty, sincere, and upright 
men, but in matters of religion they were exceedingly narrow and 
bigoted. 

In educational matters they showed rare foresight. In 1636 
the General Court, or Legislature, of Massachusetts appropriated 
four hundred pounds (about two thousand dollars) for the estab- 
lishment of a college at Newtown, that ‘Hhe light of Harvard 

learning might not go out, nor the study of God’s College 
, ^ ^ ^ T 1 TT founded at 

word perish. I wo years later the Kev. John Har- Newtown 

vard died and left his library and one half of his (Cambridge). 

estate (about four thousand dollars) to the college. The General 

Court then decreed that the college should bear his name, and 

that the name Newtown should be changed to Cambridge in 

honor of the seat of the English University. 


Rhode Island 

80. Roger Williams leaves Massachusetts and founds Provi- 
dence in 1636 . — The Rhode Island colony was an offshoot 
from Massachusetts. The founder of the colony was Roger 
Williams. Williams was an able and honest man, but he must 
have been a very uncomfortable neighbor. He was a man of 
high standards, with a very sensitive conscience, and ready to 
fight against anything which did not seem to him to be exactly 
right. He was by nature a disturber, and was soon quarreling 
with the colonists of Massachusetts. He declared that the 
king had no right to give away the land upon which they were 
living, as that rightfully belonged to the Indians. He also dis- 
agreed with his fellow-men on matters of religion, and declared 
that there should be no connection between the Church and the 


58 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


State. He also insisted on religious toleration. He was in 
advance of his time on many points, and as a result was brought 
to trial and banished in 1635. January, 1636, he fled with a 
few followers to the Narragansett Bay country, purchased a tract 
of land from the Indians, and founded the town of Providence. 
He set up a very simple kind of republican government in which 
the will of the majority ruled. Two years later he founded the 
first Baptist church in America. 

81. Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and Followers found Portsmouth 
and Newport. — Other colonists of similar character came to 
Rhode Island soon after. Mrs. Anne Hutchinson was another 
troublesome person whom the authorities banished from Mas- 
sachusetts. She was tried in the fall of 1637, and in the following 
spring she too sought refuge on Narragansett Bay, where some 
of her friends had preceded her. They purchased the island 
of Aquedneck, situated eighteen miles south of Providence, 
from the Indians for some white beads. Mrs. Hutchinson and 
her followers founded Portsmouth and Newport, and in 1644 
these two towns and a third and newer one called Warwick 
were united with Providence and were known as the Rhode 
Island and Providence Plantations. 


Connecticut, 1635 

82. Connecticut was an offshoot from Massachusetts. — Con- 
necticut was also an offshoot of Massachusetts, the parent 
colony. ■ At the time that Roger Williams was stirring up such 
a commotion in that colony, John Winthrop, the son of the 
governor of Massachusetts, was founding the town of Say- 
brook near the mouth of the Connecticut River. In 1631 Lord 
Say and Sele, Lord Brooke, and others had obtained a grant of 
land along the river from the New England Company, and the 
new settlement was founded under the auspices of these men 
and named in their honor. 

The most important movement to Connecticut came a little 
later. There were two motives which impelled the Massa- 


THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 


59 


chusetts men to seek the inviting Connecticut valley. In the 
first place there was not enough tillable land in the colony for 
all ; then again many rebelled against the religious test for vot- 
ing. In 1636 and 1637 there was a large migration from 
Massachusetts to the Connecticut valley, where eight hundred 
persons established themselves in Windsor, Hartford, and Weth- 
ersfield. A little later (1638) a small company of men of high 
standing came from England and established an independent 
settlement at New Haven. 

83. ‘‘The Fundamental Orders,” 1639. — These people who left 

Massachusetts and came to Connecticut were supposed „ ^ 

TheConnect- 

to be under the control of the Massachusetts govern- icut people 
ment, which as a matter of fact exercised but very 

form of gov- 

little control over them. Finally, in 1639, Hartford, emmentfor 
Windsor, and Wethersfield adopted a written con- ‘themselves 

stitution called “The Fundamental Orders of Con- erenceto 
necticut.” This practically made them an independent f^tts or^tiie 
republic. The form of government resembles the king of 
present United States Constitution in some respects 
and is based on the right of the people to rule, making no 
mention of the king of England. This Connecticut document 
is notable as being “the first written constitution known in 
history, that created a government.” It will be remembered 
that the compact made in the cabin of the Mayflower was not 
really a form of government, but rather an agreement to make 
one at a later time. The Connecticut form of government was 
more liberal than that of Massachusetts, and, as we might expect, 
there was no religious test for voting. This Connecticut con- 
stitution virtually ignored the power of the king and that of 
Massachusetts as well. 


New Hampshire and Maine 

84. Settlements were made about 1622. — Two other New 
England colonies yet remain to be noticed. In 1622 Ferdinando 
Gorges and John Mason obtained a grant of land between the 


6o 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


New 

Hampshire 
made a 
royal prov- 
ince, 1679. 


Merrimac and Kennebec rivers, and colonies were planted in 
that territory soon after. Some independent settlements were 
being made in New Hampshire at the time that 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island were 
being settled. At some time before 1628 a settle- 
ment was made at Dover, and some others were 
made soon after. These independent towns were joined to 
Massachusetts in 1641-1643, and so remained until made a royal 
province in 1679. Six years later New Hampshire was again 
annexed to Massachusetts. 

, The early history of Maine is quite similar to that of New 
Hampshire. It, too, was a dependency of Massa- 
chusetts. As a result of the grant to Gorges and 
Mason settlements were made in what is now Maine, 
and during the years 1652-1658 these were joined to 
Massachusetts. Massachusetts now controlled all of the settle- 
ments north of Plymouth. 


Maine 
joined to 
Massachu- 
setts. 


The New England Confederation, 1643-1684 

85 . Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven 
form the New England Confederation in 1643. — Up to 1643 the 
various New England colonies had very little to do with one 
another. Each managed its own affairs and there were almost 
no neighborly dealings. The time had now come, however, 
when a need of some kind of union was felt. The colonies 
might be called upon to defend their rights at any tinie. The 
king was displeased at the growing independence of the colo- 
nies ; the Dutch at the south and the French at the north and 
west had shown some signs of hostility, and the Indians were 
threatening the frontier. To guard against these enemies the 
colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New 
Haven formed an alliance under the name United Colonies 
of New England.” A constitution was adopted, and the govern- 
ing body was composed of eight commissioners — two from 
each colony. These commissioners had charge of all affairs of 


THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 


6i 

common interest to the colonies, while each colony managed its 
own local affairs without interference. The establishment of 
the New England Confederation was an important step in the 
development of the American Union. New Hampshire and 
Maine wished to enter the confederation, but were not per- 
mitted to do so. 

The confederation served a good purpose, but soon began to 
languish, particularly after the capture of New Netherland. 
The four colonies contained twenty-four thousand xhe Confed- 
people, and fifteen thousand of these were in Massa- eration grew 

w^03-k0ir 

chusetts Bay ; yet that colony had no more voice in after the 
the proceedings than anv other. She paid most English 

^ ® '' ^ captured 

of the taxes and had to bear the most of the burdens NewNether- 

of the wars, but the colonies were not willing to allow ^^^ 4 - 

her more than one fourth of the votes. In some instances she 

presumed to dictate to the other colonies, and jealousy was 

aroused. 

The Indians 

86. The French managed the Indians better than the English 
did. — Although the Indian is now of little importance in Ameri- 
can history, he was a very important factor in the history of the 
colonies. The Englishman never got along with the red man 
as well as the Frenchman did, and the English colonies were 
planted on our shores in the face of the most stubborn opposi- 
tion on the part of the Indian. Some few Englishmen, like 
William Penn, Roger Williams, and James Edward Oglethorpe, 
succeeded in winning the affection and confidence of the In- 
dians by kind and just treatment, but such .instances were rare. 
The policy of the Englishman seemed to be to drive out the 
Indian rather than to conciliate him. 

87. The Pequot War. — In New England the Indians were 
constantly threatening the frontier settlements. The Pequots 
were especially hostile toward the people of Saybrook, Hartford, 
Windsor, and Wethersfield, and were chastised most severely 
in the spring of 1637. In May of that year an army of three 


62 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


hundred colonists under John Mason and John Underhill made 
an attack upon the principal Pequot town and wiped it out of 
existence. Only a very few of the red men escaped. It is 
ThePequots reported by themselves,” said Underhill, “that there 
were exter- about four hundred souls in this fort, and not 

1637. above five of them escaped out of our hands.” 

Other reports say that six or seven hundred of the dusky sav- 
ages fell in the awful slaughter. Only two of the colonists were 
killed. After this terrible lesson the little colonial army spread 
desolation by fire and sword throughout the entire Pequot 
territory. The Indians were sold into slavery, their food and 
wigwams were burned, and the entire tribe scattered. It was 
never again brought together. This was the end of the 
Pequots. 

On the whole the New Englanders treated the Indians in a 
more kindly way than the other colonists did, with the single ex- 
ception of the people of Pennsylvania. The land was purchased 
from them, treaties were made, and thousands of them were 
converted to the Christian faith. Meetings of the “praying 
Indians ” were held, and John Eliot, “ the apostle to the Indians,” 
translated the Bible for their use. There were, however, occa- 
sional outbreaks. 

88. King Philip’s War. — In 1674 Philip, the chief sachem of 
the Pakanokets, whose territory was on Narragansett Bay, made 
a plot to exterminate the white men or drive them out 
defeated, of the Country. For two years the settlers carried on 
a most desperate war with Philip and his allies. In 
one contest (at South Kingston) about one thousand red men 
lost their lives. This was one of the fiercest Indian battles 
ever fought on American soil. Finally Philip and his army, 
greatly reduced in numbers, were driven into a swamp near the 
bay, and on August 12, 1676, the great leader was shot and 
killed by an Indian friendly to the whites and “ fell upon his 
face in the mud and water, with his gun under him ; . . . upon 
which the whole army gave three loud huzzas.” The great war 
was over, but it took the colonies several years to recover their 


THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 


63 


strength. About a dozen 
towns had been entirely 
destroyed by the Indians 
and others partially so. 
Six hundred men had lost 
their lives and a burden- 
some war debt had been 
piled upon the colonies. 
One fact was settled, how- 
ever : the white man was 
supreme in New England 
and the power of the In- 
dian was broken. 



Sir Edmund Andros 


King Philip. 

Philip became sachem, or chief, of the Wam- 
panoag Indians in 1662, and later made a plot 
against the English “ out of the naughtiness of his 
own heart,” as he himself said. At a later time 
he waged King Philip’s War ” and failed. 


89 . Andros attempts to 
deprive the Colonies of 
their Charters, 1686. — 

The New England colo- 
nies continued to grow in 
wealth and numbers with- 
out serious interference 
from the kings of England 
until Charles II (1660- 
1685) came to the throne. 

This king detested free government, and made New Hampshire 
a royal province in 1679 caused the Massachusetts charter to 
be annulled on June 21, 1684, in spite of the protests of Increase 
Mather, president of Harvard College, and others. King 
Charles died in the following year (1685) and was succeeded by 
his brother James, a man even more cruel and tyrannical than 
himself. James sent over as his agent Sir Edmund Andros, a 
man ‘‘ neither cruel nor rapacious, but coarse in fiber and want- 
ing in tact.” It was the duty of Andros to reduce the colonies 
to subjection to the crown. In 1686 Andros came over as 


64 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


royal governor and demanded that the charters of the colonies 
be surrendered. Rhode Island complied with the demand, and 
the charter of Connecticut, tradition says, was hidden in the 
famous “charter oak,” to prevent its falling into the hands of 
Andros. Things were looking very gloomy for the colonies 
when suddenly the “ glorious Revolution ” of 1688 in 
England changed the entire scene. The people of 
England in three short years grew tired of the tyranny 
of James and practically drove him out of the country, 
the English Andros was at an end, and great joy pre- 

vailed in New England. 

The new monarchs, William and Mary, were more liberal 
toward the colonists. The charters of Rhode Island and Con- 
necticut were returned, and a new one was granted to Massa- 
chusetts. The Revolution of 1688 came just in time to save the 
liberties of New England. 


The 

Revolution 
of 1688 
saved the 
liberties of 


FACTS AND DATES 

1620. Plymouth founded. 

1630. Massachusetts Bay Colony founded. 
1636. Roger Williams founded Providence. 
1639. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. 
1643. New England Confederation organized. 
1636. Harvard College founded. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE MIDDLE COLONIES 
1609-1700 

New York, 1609 

90. New York was colonized by Dutch Trading Companies. — 

Virginia was founded by adventurers and fortune hunters ; 
Maryland by Roman Catholics ; Georgia by bankrupts ; New 
England by Puritans in search of religious freedom ; and New 
York, or New Netherland, as it was at first called, by colonists 
sent from Holland by a trading company. The Dutch had long 
been a prominent nation in Europe and now appeared in the 
colonization of America. 

During the latter part of the sixteenth century, when Drake, 
Gilbert, and Raleigh were scouring the seas and exploring 
unknown coasts, the Dutch took no part in the New World 
enterprises. They were employed at the time in a more serious 
business. They were contending in a desperate struggle for 
life and liberty against the Spaniards — one of the most notable 
and gallant contests ever waged by man. But in 1609 Philip, 
King of Spain, was compelled to acknowledge the independence 
of the valiant Dutch, and they were free to act. They turned 
their attention naturally to America. 

91. Henry Hudson attempts to find a Water Route to India. — 
Henry Hudson, a famous English navigator and explorer, was 
in Holland at this time, and the Dutch eagerly sought his 
services. He was employed by the Dutch East India Company, 
which was much interested in the Eastern trade. 

The idea of finding a water route to India had not yet been 
given up, and on April 4, 1609, Hudson sailed from Amsterdam 

65 


66 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


in his famous little boat the Half Moon in search of such a pas- 
sage. It was thus two years after the founding of Jamestown 
and one year after the cold and hungry survivors of the 
“ Popham colony ” ^ had returned from New England, that Henry 

Hudson put out from the Zuyder 
Zee upon his memorable voyage. 
He thought that there might be 
a northwestern passage to India, 
and so he beat about the icy 

America. After being compelled 
by a hostile climate and mutinous 
sailors to abandon the quest for 
a northwestern passage, he at- 
tempted to find a passage by sail- 
ing in a southwesterly direction. 
He had received a letter from 
Captain John Smith in which it 
was stated that there might be 
such a passage somewhere to the 
north of Chesapeake Bay. So 
Hudson sailed in that direction, 
and on September 3, 1609, he 
weighed anchor in what is now 
New York harbor. He sailed up the river which now bears his 
name, as far as the present site of Albany, and saw prospects 
for a profitable fur trade with the Indians. He was also im- 
pressed with the wonderful beauty of the scenery, and any one 
who has visited the famous Hudson River Highlands will agree 
with him when he says that the land is '‘as beautiful as the 
foot of man ever trod upon.” He had many friendly visits with 
the Indians, and in one instance they prepared a feast for him 
consisting of two pigeons and a fat dog, but he tells us that he 
did not accept the invitation of the red men to dine. 

1 A colony near the mouth of the Kennebec River, 1607-1608. 


coasts of Norway for a time, and 
then turned his prow toward 



Henry Hudson. 

The great English navigator and ex- 
plorer was born about 1550. He 
sailed four times in search of a north- 
eastern or a northwestern passage to 
India, through the polar seas. He 
perished in the northern seas in 
1611, having been set adrift in an 
open boat by his heartless crew. 



6 ; 


68 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Soon after this expedition Hudson disappears from history. 
His end was tragic and pathetic. He did not abandon his 
cherished idea of finding a northwest passage to India, and the 
year after he sailed up the Hudson he went to that bay in the 
frozen north which still bears his name. There, from November 
of 1610 to June of 161 1, his little boat was firmly locked in fields 
of ice. The crew became discontented and even mutinous, and 
wanted to abandon the project and go home. Hudson, however, 
was not so easily discouraged and insisted on pressing on. The 
result was the rebellious crew set the hardy navigator with his 
son and seven sick companions, adrift in an open boat in the 
Arctic seas, and then put back to Europe. Hudson was never 
seen again. 

92 . Fort Nassau built near Present Site of Albany, 1614. — 

Shortly after Hudson’s time Adrian Block and others explored 
the country around Long Island and Manhattan, and in 1614 
Fort Nassau was built near the present site of Albany. 

93 . Settlements made on Manhattan Island, 1615. — In the 
following year another trading post with a few cabins was built 
on Manhattan Island. In this same year (1615) the New 
Netherland Company was organized for trade and colonization, 
but did nothing, and gave way in 1621 to the Dutch West India 
Company. This company began operations in a businesslike 
manner and sent out a company of emigrants in 1623. A few 
of them remained on Manhattan, but the most important settle- 
ment was made where Albany now stands. It was called Fort 
Orange, in honor of the famous family which had done so much 
for Dutch liberty. Cornelius Jacobsen May was the first 
governor or director of the Company. The colony grew, and 
in 1625 there were more than two hundred inhabitants on Man- 
hattan Island. 

In 1626 Peter Minuet came over as director, and he pur- 
Peter chased Manhattan Island, about twenty-two thousand 

chases acres, from the Indians for about twenty-four dollars. 
Manhattan This sum would be equivalent in purchasing power to 

Island from ^ i i , i i ^ i 

the Indians, about One hundred and twenty dollars at the present 


THE MIDDLE COLONIES 


69 


time, — an insignificant amount when compared with the fabulous 
wealth now piled upon the island. Minuet consolidated the 
settlements of New Netherland under one head and founded New 
Amsterdam (now New York City) as the central trading post. 

• 94. The Patfoons. — The colony, however, did not make satis- 
factory progress, as too much attention was paid to trade and 
too little to agriculture. In order to encourage agri- Agriculture 
culture a peculiar and interesting experiment was tried was encour- 

in 1629. In that year the Company obtained a char- pltroon 
ter from the legislature of Holland which permitted system, 
it to transplant the feudal system to America. It was pro- 
vided in the charter that any one founding a settlement any- 
where outside of Manhattan, of fifty or more persons above fifteen 
years of age, should be given a grant of land on the Hudson 
River, extending for sixteen miles on one side or for eight miles 
on the two sides, and as far into the interior as the situation of 
the occupiers would permit. This Patroon,” or patron, was to 
be the lord of the manor,” and the people living on his planta- 
tion were to be his subjects. In this way many large family 
estates were established on the Hudson, and some of them con- 
tinued to comparatively recent times. In 1640 the estate of the 
Patroon was limited to one mile of river front extending two 
miles into the interior, but the governmental privileges remained 
the same. The Patroon system was successful in stimulating 
an interest in agriculture. 

95. The Dutch were Tolerant in Religious Matters. — Another 
fact which should be noticed favored the growth of the New 
Netherland colony. In religious matters the Dutch were an 
exceedingly broad-minded people. Both in Holland and in 
America there was religious toleration among them when other 
nations were persecuting. The result was that New Netherland 
became a haven for the oppressed of all nations, and in 1643 
there were eighteen different languages spoken on the streets of 
New Amsterdam. 

96. Peter Stuyvesant a Gruff but Able Ruler. — In 1647 Peter 
Stuyvesant, strutting 'Hike a peacock,” came to the colony as 


70 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


director. 

qualities. 



Stuyvesant was a strange mixture of good and evil 
He has been well described as a “ noble, honest, 

headstrong, opinionated, generous, 
kindly, conscientious, eager, lion- 
hearted old soldier.” He was ex- 
tremely tyrannical in his methods 
and could not tolerate the idea of 
self-government. Ele wished to 
rule the colony like a Czar, and 
would permit no appeal to a 
higher authority. On one occa- 
sion he remarked, ‘‘ If a man 
tries to appeal from me to the 
States General [the legislature of 
Holland], I will make him a foot 
shorter, pack the pieces off- to 
Holland, and let him appeal in 
that fashion.” On another occa- 
sion he said to a man who had 
been sentenced to banishment. 
If I thought there was any dan- 
ger of your trying an appeal, I 
would hang you this minute to the 
tallest tree on the island ! ” The people, however, were not to 
be awed by this blustering talk, and demanded a share in the 
government. They saw that their neighbors in New 
obtained England had representative governments, and they 
some self- desired similar rights. Stuyvesant grudgingly granted 
them a small part of their request. 

In other respects Stuyvesant was the strong defender of the 
colony. There is evidence of this in his capture of New 
Sweden in 1655. In 1638 Peter Minuet, once director of 
New Netherland, was sent out by the South Company of 
Sweden to found a colony in America. He built Fort Christiana 
on the Delaware River, where Wilmington now stands, and 
called the country New Sweden.” Both the English and the 


Peter Stuyvesant. 

The last governor of New Nether- 
land was born in Holland in 1602, 
and served with distinction in the 
Dutch army. He became known as 
“ Peter the Headstrong,” and often, 
when in a rage, stumped furiously 
about upon his wooden leg, which 
was bound with bands of silver. 
After New Netherland was taken by 
the English he retired to a farm, 
and died in New York City in 1682. 


THE MIDDLE COLONIES 


71 


Dutch looked upon the Swedes as intruders and viewed their 
enterprise with hostile eyes. Finally, in 1655, Stuyvesant ap- 
peared with seven war ships and seven hundred 
men and demanded the surrender of the fort. New 
Sweden had but five hundred people in all, and there 
was nothing for them to do but to surrender. This 
was done and the control of the place passed into the hands of 
the Dutch. The Swedes were not disturbed in their mode of 
living. The change was one of allegiance and government sim- 
ply. It is interesting to note that nine years later New Nether- 
land fell in exactly the same way that New Sweden did. 

97 . The English capture New Netherland and name it New 
York, 1664. — In the meantime the English were viewing the 
success of the Dutch with alarm. The little Holland colony 
was entered like a wedge between the English colonies in New 
England and those in the South. There could be no unity 
among the English colonies, and even now trouble had arisen 
over boundary disputes. Furthermore, the Dutch had posses- 
sion of the best harbor on the Atlantic coast, and the Hudson 
River was an important highway for the Indian fur trade. 
Under these circumstances it was not difficult for Charles II of 
England to convince himself that the Dutch were intruders and 
that the country rightfully belonged to the English. Although 
he had no valid reason for doing so, he sent out an expedition 
in 1664 to take possession of New Netherland. In August of 
that year Colonel Nicolls appeared before New Amsterdam, 
then a city of sixteen hundred people, and demanded its sur- 
render. Nicolls had four ships and about four hundred and fifty 
men and was reenforced by a large number from New England. 
Stuyvesant had only one hundred and fifty trained men and two 
hundred and fifty citizen soldiers, upon whom he could not fully 
rely. The bluff old director blustered about a good deal, but 
was finally compelled to yield. I would rather be carried to 
my grave,” he said, but he surrendered, and New Amsterdam 
became New York, and Fort Orange became Albany, both 
names having been changed in honor of the king’s brother, the 


72 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Duke of York and Albany. By October the English had pos- 
session of all the Dutch towns, and New Netherland was no 
more. The capture of New Amsterdam was an important 



Governor Stuyvesant of New Netherland destroying the Demand for 

Surrender, 1664. 

When the English Colonel Nicolls appeared with his troops before New 
Amsterdam in 1664, he sent in a demand for the surrender of the town, 
d'he council and magistrates asked Stuyvesant to read the demand to the 
people, but the governor refused and, in a rage, tore the paper to pieces. 

event in the uniting of the English colonies in America, and 
Charles II aided the development of American liberty with- 
out intending to do so. The English now had control of 


THE MIDDLE COLONIES 


73 


the entire Atlantic coast from the present site of Savannah to 
Maine. 

The Duke of York became the proprietor of the new English 
possession, but Dutch manners and customs contin- 
ued, and some of the offices were still held by the ners and 
Dutch. Self-government was quietly introduced and customs con- 
the colony prospered greatly under English rule. 

In 1664 there were about ten thousand people in the province, 
and about sixteen hundred of these were in New York City. 
At the end of the century the population was about twenty-five 
thousand. 



The City of New York about 1670. 


In 1673 New York was retaken by the Dutch, much to the 
joy of the old settlers, but was given back to the English by 
treaty in the following year. 

98. Andros is made Governor of New York and New England 
in 1688 . — From 1683 to 1688 Thomas Dongan, an enlightened 
man, was governor of the province, and during his administra- 
tion the people secured a greater part in the government. In 
1688, however, there came an important change. When James 
II became king of England, he made New York a royal 
province and appointed Edmund Andros governor of New 
York and New England in 1688. The rule of Andros was short- 



74 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


lived, however. James was detested in England, as we have 
seen, and was driven out of the country by the Revolution of 
1688. The revolution in England caused one in America, and 
Jacob Leisler usurped control of the government. In 1691 
Leisler surrendered to Colonel Henry Sloughter, the royal 
governor, who, while intoxicated, signed the death warrant of 
Leisler. A new form of representative government was intro- 
duced, and things went on in New York in a quiet and unevent- 
ful way for the remainder of the century. 

New Jersey, 1664 

99. Berkeley and Carteret. — Before the conquest of New 

Netherland by the English some of the Dutch had wandered 

Thepracti- down into the territory now known as New Jersey 

cal coioniza- had made settlements there. The systematic 

tion of New ... r tvt t i • 

Jersey be- Colonization of New Jersey, however, begins with 

ganin 1664. jn that year the Duke of York granted to two 

of his favorites. Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, 
the land between the Delaware and Hudson rivers. The terri- 
tory was called New Jersey in honor of Carteret, who as gov- 
ernor of the island of Jersey had valiantly defended his land from 
the enemies of the king. The grant also gave the proprietors 
full power to govern any colonists who might occupy their lands. 

In 1665 the proprietors drew up a charter called the ‘‘Con- 
cessions and Agreements,’' which was to serve as a form of 
Form of government for present and future settlers in their 
government, territory. This was the first constitution of New 
Jersey. It gave the colonists some part in legislation, but pro- 
vided that all the laws were to be made subject to the approval 
of the proprietors. 

Philip Carteret, a relative of one of the proprietors, immedi- 
ately set out with a company of emigrants to establish a colony 
Early Settle- under the new charter. He came to New Jersey 
ments. [^1 1 665 and founded Elizabethtown, of which he was 
the governor. Middletown and Newark were founded in 1666. 


THE MIDDLE COLONIES 


75 


A short time after the coming of Carteret the colonists and 
proprietors quarreled over the rents, and Berkeley, becoming 
disgusted with the whole matter, sold his undivided half of the 
territory to a party of Quakers for one thousand pounds. 

100. William Penn and Others purchase West Jersey. — By two 
successive purchases (1674 and 1676) the Berkeley interest fell 
into the hands of William Penn and other Quakers. Up to 
1674 the territory was undivided, but in that year, after the 
Dutch had lost New York for a second time, the king confirmed 
the grant of New Jersey, and the new grant gave Carteret the 
eastern part, and the Quakers the western. Two years later 
(1676) Carteret and the Quakers agreed on a definite boundary 
line separating East and West Jersey. It was agreed that 
Carteret should have all the land situated on the east side of a 
line drawn from Little Egg Harbor to the point where the 
parallel 41° 40' crosses the Delaware River. The Quakers were 
to have the land on the west of this line. 

The Quakers set up a liberal and enlightened government in 
West Jersey. They were being persecuted elsewhere, and ap- 
preciated the blessings of political and religious free- pennandthe 

dom. They granted religious toleration to all who Quakers 

I 1 11 r ir grant politi- 

kept the peace, and they set up a system of self-gov- caiandreii- 

ernment. They put power in the people,” to use gu>ushberty. 

their own words. In 1677 about four hundred Quakers came 

from England to enjoy the blessings of this haven of liberty. 

In 1680 Sir George Carteret died, and two years later William 

Penn and twenty-four associates, many of whom were not 

Quakers, purchased East Jersey from the Carteret heirs. The' 

two parts were united under one head, and both prospered. 

101. Charter surrendered to the King in 1688. — When James 

II came to the throne of England, he demanded the surrender 

of the New Jersey charter. In 1688 the grants were 

, New Jersey 

surrendered to the crown, but the landed rights re- became a 

mained in the hands of the proprietors. New Jersey royal prov- 

7 ince in 1702. 

was annexed to the northern colonies under the rule 

of the infamous Andros. Einally, in 1702, weary of the quarrels 


76 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

over rents and other matters, the proprietors surrendered all 
their rights to the king, and New Jersey became a royal province. 
From this time until 1738 New Jersey was under the control of 
the governor of New York, who ruled it through his deputy. 

Pennsylvania, i 68 1 

102. William Penn. — The Pennsylvania colony has an inter- 
esting history, largely because it is so closely identified with the 
personality of William Penn, one of the most famous men of his 
time. The father of Penn was an admiral in the English navy, 
a member of the House of Commons, a favorite with the king, 
and one of the most influential men in England. The younger 
Penn was sent to Oxford University, where he became famous as 
a scholar and an athlete. He was a powerful oarsman and well 
versed in ancient and modern languages. He could read and 
speak Latin, Italian, Erench, German, and Dutch, and was also 
proficient in Greek. In addition to this we know from his 
letters and other writings that he was an expert in the use of 
his mother tongue. While at Oxford he became a convert to the 
teaching of George Fox, the leader of the Society of Friends, or 
Quakers. This displeased his father, and he was removed from 
college and sent to Paris with the hope that he might forget his 
new religious ideas in the gayeties of the French capital. It 
did not turn out so, however, and Penn clung to his religious 
beliefs to the day of his death. 

When he left Oxford he was eighteen years of age and was 
described as “ tall, lithe, and strongly built, a picture of manly 
beauty, with great lustrous eyes under wide arching' brows, a 
profusion of dark hair falling in curls on his shoulders, a power- 
ful chin, a refined and sensitive mouth.” 

103. Penn obtains a Grant of Land in what is now Penn- 
sylvania in 1681 . — In 1670 Admiral Penn died and left a 
large estate to his son. He also bequeathed to him a claim of 
sixteen thousand pounds against the government and committed 
him with his dying words to the care of the king’s brother, the 


TPIE MIDDLE COLONIES 


11 


Duke of York. We have already seen how Penn, by the pur- 
chase of land in New Jersey, became interested in American 
colonization. At a later time he concluded that he would like 
to go into the enterprise on a more extensive scale. Fortunately 
it so happened that the king had very little ready money for 
the payment of debts, but he had an abundance of land in 
America which he was very willing to dispose of. It was con- 
sequently arranged that Penn’s claim against the government 
should be paid in land. In i68i Charles II gave him a grant 
, of forty thousand square miles 
of territory in the New’ World. 

Penn wished to call his posses- 
sion New Wales,” because he 
had been informed that there 
were ranges of hills to the west 
of the Delaware River. There 
seemed to be some objection to 
this name on the part of the king, 
and Penn substituted the name 
Sylvania,” or the woodland. To 
this name the king prefixed the 
word Penn,” thus forming the 
name as we now know it. Penn 
objected with becoming modesty 
to the new name because he 
thought it might be looked on 
as vanity ” ; but the king quieted 
his fears by bluntly remarking : 

'' Don’t flatter yourself. We will 
keep the name to commemorate 
the Admiral, your noble father.” 

Penn was now ready to enter upon what he called his holy 
experiment.” He advertised his plans widely and offered to sell 
small holdings of land at very low rates. He also held out self- 
government and religious liberty as additional inducements to 
colonists. The result was that in the autumn of the same year 



William Penn. 

Born in 1644, and while imprisoned in 
the London Tower for religious con- 
victions wrote his principal work, 
“ No Cross, No Crown.” On the site 
of the famous “Treaty Elm” in Penn- 
sylvania a monument was placed with 
this inscription: “Treaty Ground of 
William Penn and the Indian Nation. 
Unbroken Faith.” He died in 1718. 


78 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


(i68i) in which the grant was obtained three shiploads of peo- 
ple set out for Penn’s forests under the command of William 
Markham, the cousin of Penn, as deputy governor. Some 
He begins settlers had found their way into these domains long 
his “holy before Penn obtained possession of them, and to these 

expen- ^ ^ 

ment.” Penn sent a friendly and candid greeting in a letter 
carried by Markham. ‘‘My friends,” he said, “I wish you all 
happiness, here and hereafter. These are to let you know that 
it hath pleased God, in his Providence, to cast you within my lot 
and care. ... I shall not usurp the right of any, or oppress 
his person. ... I beseech God to direct you in the way of 
righteousness, and therein prosper you and your children after 
you. I am your true friend, — William Penn.” 

In the following year (1682) he wrote a tender letter of fare- 
well to his wife and came to America in person to care for the 
interests of his “ holy experiment.” He was delighted with 
the beauty and repose of the woodland, and exclaimed, “ O how 
sweet is the quiet of these parts ! ” The site for the capital had 
already been chosen, and Penn proceeded to lay out its 
streets in regular order between the Delaware and the Schuylkill 
rivers. The place was named Philadelphia, or the City of 
Brotherly Love. The first streets of this now famous city 
were named after the various trees which grew in great abun- 
dance where the pavements have long since been laid. 

The form of government which Penn gave to the settlers was 
a very liberal one — much like that which he had set up in 
West Jersey. He kept his promises in regard to 

Grants a , . , . 111 

liberal form selt-govemment and religious toleration, and the laws 
of govern- made soon after his arrival were equally enlightened. 

xnciit* ^ 

They provided, among other things, for the care of 
the poor and humane treatment of prisoners. 

After a short stay in Pennsylvania the proprietor returned to 
Pennsyi- England in 1684, where he remained for fifteen years, 
vania pros- During his absence the colony continued to prosper, 
but there was a good deal of turbulence and discon- 
tent, as there was in proprietary colonies generally. 


THE MIDDLE COLONIES 


79 


In spite of the disorder the colony, as we have seen, prospered. 
It was compelled to endure no such trials and privations as those 
which afflicted Jamestown and Plymouth, but was a 
success from the very start. In 1684 there were itbecomes^a 
three hundred and fifty-seven houses in Philadelphia, oppressed, 
and in 1685 there were more than eight thousand in- 
habitants in the colony. Pennsylvania had grown more rapidly 
than any other colony except Massachusetts, and had grown as 
much in three years as New Netherland had in fifty. It 
established schools as early as 1683, and became an asylum for 
the oppressed of every nation. In its early years about 
one half of its inhabitants were of English origin, but the 
Dutch, Swedes, French, Scotch-Irish, Germans,' and Finns 
were well represented in Penn’s colony. 


Delaware 

104. Penn obtained Delaware in 1682. — In 1682 Penn obtained 
by a special grant from the Duke of York that territory now 
known as Delaware. Pennsylvania was called the province,” 
and Delaware the “territories,” but both were under the rule of 
Penn until 1703. In that year the proprietor, becoming weary 
of the continued discord, set up the territories as a separate 
colony under the name of Delaware. 

105. Penn was Just in his Dealings with the Indians. — 
Penn’s dealings with the Indians were remarkably successful. 
It has been truly said that he “ knew instinctively what chords 
in the Indian’s nature to touch.” And yet his policy was a 
very simple one. He was humane, honest, and just in his deal- 
ings with the red men and never broke his promises to them. 
The Shackamaxon treaty made with the Indians in 1682 under 
the famous elm, which stood until the nineteenth century, is 
a remarkable example of justice — “the only treaty,” says 
Voltaire with fine sarcasm, “between savages and Christians 
that was never sworn to and never broken.” 

Although Pennsylvania was settled three quarters of a cen- 


8o 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


tury after the founding of Jamestown, she soon caught up with 
some of the older colonies and even surpassed many 
of^Pennryi^ of them. A writer whose book was published in 
vaniawas England in 1698 speaks of the '‘stately houses” and 
the " fine squares and courts ” of Philadelphia and 
the "great and extended traffique and commerce” of the colony. 
" Of lawyers and physicians,” says the writer, " I shall have 
.nothing to say, because the country is very peaceable and 
healthy. . . . There are no beggars to be seen, nor, indeed, 
have any here the least temptation to take up that scandalous, 
lazy life.” 

FACTS AND DATES 

1609. Henry Hudson reached New York harbor. 

1655. New Sweden captured. 

1664. Conquest of New Netherland. 

1664. New Jersey Grants to Berkeley and Carteret. 

1681. Grant to William Penn. 

1688. Glorious Revolution’** in England. 

1703. Delaware separated from Pennsylvania. 




CHAPTER VII 


THE PROGRESS OF THE COLONIES 

1700-1750 

106. Population. — During the first half of the eighteenth 
century the American colonies made considerable progress. 
Their general prosperity is fairly well indicated by the growth 
of their population. In spite of Indian attacks, disease, and the 
hardships of a pioneer life the colonists increased in numbers. 
Religious disputes and quarrels with the mother country over 
commerce also tended to check the growth of the colonies, but 
notwithstanding all of this the population continued to increase. 

The total population of the colonies in 1700 was about 

253.000. In 1750 it had increased to 1,370,000. In 1700 New 

England had 105,000 people ; in 1750 it had nearly population 

400.000. In 1700 the Middle Colonies had 59,000 increased 

inhabitants, and in 1750 they had about 355,000. during the 
The South had a population of 89,000 in 1700, and first half of 
by the middle of the century the number had in- eighteenth 
creased to about 620,000. Virginia was the most century, 
populous colony, having about 300,000 people in 1750. Many 
of these, however, were negro slaves. Massachusetts was sec- 
ond in size, and Pennsylvania third. Georgia, the youngest col- 
ony, was also the smallest and did not have more than 5000 
inhabitants in 1750. 

107. Pursuits. — Agriculture was the principal occupation, 
and the colonists depended for the most part upon 

their own farm products for a livelihood. In Vir- ^as the 
ginia tobacco was the leading crop, and large quan- 
titles of rice were raised in the swamps of South 
Carolina. Lumbering was carried on, tanneries and distilleries 

81 


82 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNxMENT 


were built, and shipbuilding was an important industry. Much 
of the manufacturing was done in the homes of the people. 
Nails were made in this way, so also was the homespun cloth 
from which the clothing of the colonists was made. 

Fishing, particularly along the banks of Newfoundland, gave 
occupation to many, and others were engaged in a profitable 
commerce with the West Indies. 

108. Slavery. — Slavery existed in all of the colonies, but 
was much more profitable in the South than in the North. 
Slavery was Slaves could not be used to good advantage on the 
more profit- small farms of New England, and slavery was dying 

able in the ' . ^ ^ t i i ^ ^ i f 

South than out 111 that locality. In the South, on the other hand, 

in the North, slave labor was exceedingly profitable. The slave 
could be used to a good advantage on the large southern plan- 
tations, and he was particularly useful in the tobacco fields of 
Virginia and in the rice swamps of South Carolina. In the 
Middle Colonies the slaves were not numerous. In Pennsylvania 
the Quakers were opposed to slavery on moral grounds, and in 
New York the slaves constituted only about ten per cent of the 
population. In South Carolina they made up sixty per cent of 
the whole people, and new supplies were constantly coming 
from the wilds of Africa. In the malarial rice swamps of the 
South the average life of a slave was short, and new recruits 
were necessary. Many of these new slaves were savages from 
the jungles of Africa, and in some localities the people lived in 
constant dread of slave rebellions. 

In many of the colonies — particularly in Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, and Virginia — there was a class of people known as 
Indented indented servants. These were not slaves, but were 

servants. bound to service for a term of years. In many in- 

stances they had their passages paid to America, and agreed 
to work for a certain time to repay the money thus advanced. 

109. Religion. — The influence of religion was very strong in 
the colonies. The Congregational Church and the Church of 
England were the most powerful. In Maryland the Church 
of England was established by law and supported by the gov- 


THE PROGRESS OF THE COLONIES 


83 


eminent. All of the people, whether members of this church or 
not, were obliged to pay taxes for its support. In Virginia and 
the Carolinas the arrangement was about the same. The Congre- 
The Congregational Church bore about the same re- gationai 

lation to New England that the Church of England the Church 
did to the South. Religious toleration had not ad- England 
vanced very far. Roman Catholics were oppressed most influ- 
everywhere except in Pennsylvania. entiai. 

110. Education. — There was a desire for education among 
the colonists, but their means to provide for it were scanty. 
Public schools were started at an early date, though 

many children were educated in private schools, or Schools were 
by private teachers in the households. In all of the not numer- 

New England states, with the exception of Rhode ni^aiUines^' 
Island, provisions were made for public schools. In 
these schools reading, writing, and arithmetic were the most 
important studies. In a few of the larger towns there were 
academies which prepared students to enter the colleges. These 
colleges were about equivalent to our high schools. 

In New York the public school seems to have been neglected 
at this time. There were some public schools in New Jersey 
and Pennsylvania, but only a *very few in Maryland. In Vir- 
ginia there was none. The children of this colony were educated 
privately or sent to England for that purpose. 

111. Witchcraft. — There did not seem, however, to be educa- 
tion enough to banish the superstition of the time. People some- 
how thought that certain elderly women were possessed of evil 
spirits and thus caused whatever misfortune befell the colony. 


* 

The people of Salem, Massachusetts, thought that certain women 
whom they called witches brought on the Indian attacks, small- 
pox, and various diseases, and should be put to death. They acted 
upon the command which they found in their Bibles, Thou 
shalt not suffer a witch to live,” and before the witchcraft delu- 
sion disappeared a large number of unfortunate but innocent 
persons had lost their lives. 

112. Attacks on the Charters. — It is customary for histo- 


84 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND CxOVERNMENT 


rians to say that the first half of the eighteenth century was a 
prosy period in the history of the American colonies. There 
were not many dramatic scenes or picturesque events in that 
period, yet it is now plain that the struggle for American liberty 
had begun even then. 


The 

struggle 
between the 
colonies and 
the mother 
country be- 
gan at this 
time. 


The New England colonies — and especially Rhode Island 
and Connecticut — had succeeded in obtaining very liberal char- 
ters from the kings of England. These favorable 
documents aroused the jealousy of the English Par- 
liament, and various attempts were made to annul 
the charters, and to set up the colonies as royal 
provinces. The colonies, however, had shrewd agents 
in London who succeeded in protecting their rights. 
When it was proposed, for example, in 1715, to unite Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire in one royal province, 
Jeremiah Dummer, the colonial agent from Connecticut, made a 
vigorous protest. He said that the colonies had an undoubted 
right” to their charters, since they had been granted by the 
king for all time. He also said that the colonies had not for- 
feited their charters through misbehavior, since they were loyal 
Thecoio- to the mother country, and he expressed the opinion 
nists resist, that the repeal of the^charters would check the pros- 
perity of the colonies, and at the same time injure the commerce 
of England. This line of argument was successful, and the 
members of Parliament ceased their attacks for the time upon 
the New England charters. ' 

113. Boundary Disputes were Frequent. — In addition to the 
quarrels with the mother country the colonies had numerous 
disputes concerning the location of boundary lines. The kings 
of England when granting tracts of land to companies and to 
individuals had been exceedingly careless about exact bound- 
aries. They thought apparently that there was land enough 
for all, and they did notjook forward to the time when the set- 
tlements would expand sufficiently to come into contact with 
each other. The boundary difficulties, however, were not all 
due to the carelessness of the kings. The fact is, that America 


THE PROGRESS OF THE COLONIES 


85 


had not been surveyed, and its geography was not accurately 
known. For these reasons it was not possible to set forth exact 
boundaries in the charters. 

The boundary disputes were, in some cases, long. drawn out. 
The line between Connecticut and Massachusetts was not finally 
fixed until 1826, and that between Connecticut and Rhode Island 
not until 1840. The dispute between Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land was settled in 1732, and in 1767 Charles Mason “Mason and 
and Jeremiah Dixon, eminent English surveyors, fixed i>ixon’siine” 

1 r T%/r 1 y T )) i i i • divided the 

the famous Mason and Dixon s line which has since North from 
been looked upon as the dividing line between the South. 
North and the South. This line marks the boundary between 
Maryland and Pennsylvania. The survey of Mason and Dixon 
extended over a number of years, having been interrupted by 
Indian attacks in 1751-1752. 

114 . Quarrels between the Governors and the Colonial Legis- 
latures. — The first half of the eighteenth century witnessed 
many important struggles between the colonists and their royal 
governors. These struggles furnished an excellent training for 
the more important ones which preceded the Revolution. A 
few examples of these contests will serve to show their general 
nature. In several of the colonies the legislatures differed with 
the governors in regard to the amount of salary which the latter 
should receive. The people of Massachusetts insisted upon 
their rights in this respect very vigorously. They considered 
themselves Englishmen, and held that they had a right to raise 
money and to spend it as they saw fit. As a result of this, 

deadlocks ” occurred and public business was frequently 
brought to a full stop. 

In South Carolina the governors favored the Church of Eng- 
land, and this also aroused the opposition of the people. 

In Pennsylvania the controversy was perhaps the most 
vigorous. The Penn family owned a large amount of land and 
refused to pay taxes on these proprietary estates. After a long 
struggle they yielded in 1759. Another source of difficulty in 
Pennsylvania lay in the fact that the Quakers were opposed to 


86 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


war and refused to give money to equip and maintain troops. 
A small army seemed to the governors to be absolutely neces- 
sary for purposes of defense. 

The people of New Y ork had a most distressing experience with 
their governor, Lord Cornbury. Lord Cornbury was a cousin to 
Queen Anne of England, and so thought perhaps that he was 
entitled to special privileges. On one occasion the legislature of 
New York voted twelve thousand dollars for fortifications, and 
the governor promptly stole the money and used it for his pri- 
vate purposes. He was removed from office and imprisoned to 
await the payment of his debts, while the legislators said that 
they would not vote any more money for public purposes until 
they were sure that it would be expended by honest officials. 

On the whole it may be said that the legislatures gained 
in power as a result of these quarrels with the royal governors. 
The legislatures insisted on their rights, and the governors were, 
in many instances, weak characters. 

The char- Rhode Island and Connecticut no such disputes 

ters of Rhode took place. The charters of these colonies were ex- 

Connecticut cccdingly liberal and provided for self-government 
were liberal, and the election of governors by popular vote. The 
people thus had matters in their own hands. 

115 . Plans of Union appear Early in the Eighteenth Century. — 
From the founding of the colonies until about 1700 each colony 
had its own separate existence and had almost nothing to do with 
its neighbors. But in the early part of the eighteenth century 
they began to realize that they had some interests in common. 
The Indian wars and the growing hostility of the French made 
them feel that some kind of a union was necessary for the 
cornmon defense. Virginia became the natural leader of the 
South, and Massachusetts of the North, while Pennsylvania 
and New York were prominent among the Middle Colonies. 

Plans of union were suggested from time to time. The New 
England Confederation of 1643 was the earliest of these plans 
and served as a model for many of those which followed. 
(See § 85.) 


THE PROGRESS OF THE COLONIES 


87 


In 1754 Benjamin Franklin, one of the leading men of Penn- 
sylvania, made a sort of constitution for the colonies which 
resembled somewhat the Articles of Confederation of a later 
time. Franklin’s plan provided for a central or general govern- 
ment which was to have charge of all matters of ^ , 

^ ® Franklin’s 

common interest to the colonies, such as wars, deal- pianresem- 
ings with the Indians, and the sale of public lands. Articles of 
Each colony was to manage its private affairs as it Confedera- 
had been doing, and as the various states now do. 

Although a great war with the French and Indians was about 
to begin, and the necessity for some form of union was clearly 
seen, the plan was not adopted. Franklin remarked that it was 
rejected by the king because it gave too much power it was 
to the colonies, and was rejected by the colonies be- rejected, 
cause it gave too much power to the king. It was evidently 
impossible to please the king and the people at the same time. 
At a later time the plans of union sprang from the people with 
no thought of pleasing the king. 

116 . The Westward Movement began in the Early Part of the 
Eighteenth Century. — Up to the eighteenth century the English 
colonies in America were but a fringe on the Atlantic coast east 
of the Alleghany Mountains. In the first half of this century, 
however, the territory beyond the mountains was opened up for 
settlement. In 1716 Governor Spotswood of Virginia with a 
large party of men in hunters’ garb crossed the Blue Ridge 
Mountains and entered the Shenandoah valley, since made fa- 
mous in the Civil War. Hitherto this locality had been veiled in 
mystery, but after Governor Spotswood’s expedition many immi- 
grants came to take advantage of the great fertility of the 
valley. 

In 1748 another band of hunters and adventurers crossed the 
ridge and took possession of land claims in what is now Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee. In the following year the Ohio Company 
was formed for the purpose of making settlements in this 
western country. Many leading Virginians, including two 
brothers of George Washington, were members of this company. 


88 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


They obtained a grant of five hundred thousand acres of land 
from the king and proceeded to make settlements. 

This westward movement was a very important event in the 
early history of America. It opened the way for the settlement 
of that immense area west of the Alleghany Mountains, and it 
also brought the English into contact with the French who were 
occupying the interior. While the English were colonizing the 
Atlantic coast, the French were distributing themselves along 
the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, the Ohio and 
Mississippi. Now that the English had crossed the 
Alleghany Mountains a conflict between the two na- 
tions was certain. This conflict broke out in 1754 
and resulted in establishing the supremacy of the 
We shall see in the following chapter how this came 


The English 
come into 
contact with 
the French 
in the 
interior. 


English, 
about. 

When the reader remembers that the Pope by a decree issued 

in May of 1493 divided the heathen world between Spain and 

Portugal and that all of North America fell to Spain, he may be 

puzzled to know how England, France, and Holland succeeded 

in obtaining land in what is now the United States. 

of^discov^^ When the decree was issued, the Pope was exceedingly 

ery” theory powerful in the affairs of Europe and his decision was 
tsikes the 

place of the received with great respect. Soon, however, Eng- 
Pope’s de- land, France, and Holland came to look upon it as 

1493. made up their minds to disregard it. 

Then the doctrine called the right of discovery ” came to take 
the place of the Pope’s bull. Under this doctrine it was held 
that a Christian nation which discovered a heathen land was 
the owner of it, but must take possession by actual occupation 
within a reasonable time. The native inhabitants were looked 
upon as occupants of the soil merely without legal right to the 
land which they occupied. Under the ‘‘right of discovery” 
theory Spain and Portugal lost their special privileges and all 
the nations of Europe contended for territory on the American 
continent on equal terms. 

In conclusion, then, it should be said that although the first 


THE PROGRESS OF THE COLONIES 89 

half of the eighteenth century was in some respects a dull 
period, nevertheless the colonies grew in numbers and increased 
in wealth ; that the spirit of liberty was increasing, and that the 
idea of self-government was growing. There was also a feeling 
of unity among the colonies which prepared them for the great 

struggle with France, to which we must now turn our attention. 

« 

FACTS AND DATES 

1716. Governor Spots wood starts westward movement. 

1754. Franklin’s plan of union. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 

117 . France and Britain contend for the Possession of India and 
America. — France and Britain were the two leading nations 
of the world in the eighteenth century, and both were striving 
vigorously at this time to obtain more territory. The two 
nations were natural rivals. They differed in race and in re- 
ligion, and had been at swords’ points for centuries. In 1066 
William, the Duke of Normandy, came from the northern part 
of France and took forcible possession of England in the 
so-called Norman Conquest, and in the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries the two countries contended in the Hundred Years’ 
War. Now, in the eighteenth century, they were again engaged 
in a life and death struggle in India and in America. 

It will be necessary for us, before taking up the story of this 
contest for supremacy in North America, to consider the work 
of the French explorers and the establishment of the French 
colonies in America. 


French Exploration and Colonization 

While the English, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Dutch were 
sending out exploring expeditions, the French were by no means 
idle. They were an active and ambitious people and were desir- 
ous of building up a French empire on the American continent. 

118 . John Verrazano, 1524. — Accordingly, in 1524, John 
Verrazano, an Italian in the employ of the king of France, set 
out in an attempt to find an all-water route to the East. He 
failed in this, but he explored the American coast from the 
Cape Fear River to Newfoundland. 

90 


STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 91 


119. In 1534 Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence. — 

Ten years later the French appeared in the region of the St. 
Lawrence River. In 1534 Jacques Cartier, while searching for 
a route to the Indies, entered the mouth of the St; Lawrence 
and sailed up the river for a considerable distance, or ‘‘until 
land could be seen on either side.” He thought at one time, 
while sailing on the broad river, 
that he had found at last the long- 
sought water route to India, but 
he, too, was mistaken. 

He went home to France, but 
returned to America in the follow- 
ing year (1535) and sailed up the 
St. Lawrence to the pres- jn 1535 

ent site of Montreal. In he reached 

the present 

fact, it was he who gave site of 
the place the name Mont hiontreai. 

Royals meaning Royal Mountain. 

The winter which Cartier spent in 
this northern locality on shipboard 
was a particularly severe one, even 
for Canada, and the reports which 
he brought back to France did not 
encourage colonists to come to the 
St. Lawrence country in great num- 
bers. A war with Spain also turned the attention of the French 
away from exploration and colonization for the time. In the 
summer of 1541, however, the rollicking Cartier again came to 
the St. Lawrence region and reached the present site of Que- 
bec, where he built a rude fort. No colony was established, 
however, as Cartier returned to France a few months after his 
arrival in America. He took home a quantity of rock crystals, 
which he thought were diamonds. 

120. Coligny and the Huguenots. — The first really serious 
attempt on the part of the French to found a colony in America 
was made by the Huguenots under the leadership of Admiral 



Jacques Cartier. 

One of the earliest of the French ex- 
plorers, born 1494; made several voy- 
ages to the New World in the service 
of the King of France. Died, 1555. 


92 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Coligny. The Huguenots were stanch Protestants and were 
persecuted for their religion. Because of this persecution Ad- 
miral Coligny, an able leader, determined to establish 
a haven for his people in America. Accordingly in 
1562 he sent Jean Ribaut to the new country with 
a band of emigrants. These colonists avoided the 
Island, 1562. £j.Q2cn North which Cartier had explored and turned 

their prows toward the South. On May Day Ribaut came to 
the St. John’s River in Florida and named it the River of May. 


The Hugue- 
nots estab- 
lished a 
colony on 
Port Royal 



French Explorations and the French and Indian War, 1524-1763 


He then established a colony on Port Royal Island and named 
the whole locality Carolina in honor of King Charles of France. 
The Port Royal colony was weak, however, and soon perished. 
Only twenty-six were left by Ribaut when he returned to France, 
and these, or the remnant of them, left for home a year later. 

121. Laudonniere establishes Fort Carolina in Florida, 1564 . — 
In 1 564 Laudonniere, a 'companion of Ribaut, came to Port 
Royal with a small band of followers. They were unable to 
find Ribaut’s colonists, as the latter had sailed for home in a 


STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 93 


rude vessel made by their own hands. Leaving the ill-fated 
Port Royal, Laudonniere’s colonists pushed on to the River of 
May in Florida. On the bank of this stream a fort was built 
which was named Carolina in honor of the PTench king, 
Charles IX. This colony was another weakling. The men 
were shiftless and dissolute and could not contend successfully 
against disease, starvation, Indian attacks, and other mis- 
fortunes which they were compelled to face. Mutiny sprang up 
among them and the colony was in a sorry plight. 

122 . The Spaniards destroyed the French Colony in Florida. — 
In the meantime the Spaniards were keeping up a very serious 
thinking. They looked upon the French as intruders and deter- 
mined to destroy the colony. The Spaniards disliked the French 
and were particularly bitter toward the Huguenots. In 1565 Me- 
nendez came to America, founded St. Augustine, and said that 
it was his intention to ‘‘gibbet and behead all the Protestants in 
those regions.” He immediately set out upon his bloody work 
and completely exterminated the French colony on the River of 
May. Several hundred persons are said to have lost their lives 
in th^ massacre. The French were in no way prepared to meet 
the attack. As stated above, the colony was in a sad condition. 
In fact, the project had been given up as a failure. The French 
were about to abandon the locality and had traded the heavy 
guns of Fort Carolina to Sir John Hawkins for one of his ves- 
sels. Before they could depart, Menendez appeared and easily 
captured the defenseless fort. The French were either killed 
on the spot or thrust into the Spanish dungeons. This was the 
sad ending of the French colony on the River of May. 

123 . Sable Island. — Another French attempt at colonization 
— this time in the far North — met with no better 
success. In 1598 the Marquis de la Roche established jJarq^uis de 
a colony of liberated criminals on Sable Island, off the la Roche es- 

coast of Nova Scotia. The result was what might colony on 

have been expected. The unfortunate criminals were Sabie island. 

T It failed. 

not good material for the founding of a colony and 

were not properly assisted by the mother country. They were 


94 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


left to shift for themselves and soon became savages on their 
barren sands. Five years later twelve of the survivors, clad in 
the skins of animals, were carried back to France. Their story 
is a weird and horrible one. 

124. Samuel de Champlain. — The story of the French at- 
tempts at colonization in America during the sixteenth century 
is a story of dismal failure. In the early part of the following 
century, however, there was a marked change, and France suc- 
ceeded in laying the foundations of what promised to be a mag- 
nificent empire. There were good reasons, too, for the brilliant 
successes which followed the list of sorry failures. In the fif- 
teenth century the French people were fighting among them- 
selves. Civil and religious wars had turned their attention away 
from the exploration of the new continent. But peace came 
with the dawn of the new century, and the warriors of the former 
period became the explorers and colonizers of the new. 

The founder of New France in America, the greatest of the 
French explorers and colonizers of this .period, was the resolute 
and dauntless Samuel de Champlain. Champlain, 
thefo^nder skillful navigator, bold cavalryman, and daring 
of New explorer, was made lieutenant general of Canada, and 

France, was ^ r t- • • r ^ tt* 

the greatest sailed from France in the spring of 1003. His com- 

of French pany ascciided the St. Lawrence in their single ship 
explorers. ^ ^ ox 

and landed near the present site of Quebec. Six of 
the men then pushed on in a canoe up the river to Lachine 
Rapids, nine miles above Montreal. Champlain returned to 
France in the fall, but came back to America in the following 
spring and spent three years beating about the coasts of New 
England and the St. Lawrence region. He made an unsuccess- 
ful attempt to plant a colony in Nova Scotia, and re- 
turned to France in 1607. In the following year he 
came again to the New World and founded a settle- 
ment, — the first permanent one in Canada, — which 
he named Quebec from an Indian word meaning ^‘the 
narrows.” The site was a beautiful one for a post, 
overlooking as it did the magnificent river and the picturesque 


In 1608 he 
founded 
Quebec, — 
the first per- 
manent 
colony in 
Canada. 


STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 95 


Canadian country. Champlain’s practiced eye was also quick 
to see that the heights about Quebec would be important from a 
military standpoint. 

After Champlain had opened the way the French came in 
larger numbers. Brave soldiers, daring adventurers,' enterpris- 
ing fur traders and trappers, devoted priests and lawless wood- 
rangers, pushed into the interior of the continent where the face 
of a white man had never been seen before. These hardy ex- 
plorers broke the stillness of the primeval forest with the splash 
of their canoe paddles and the crack of their guns. Champlain 
was persevering and for years was the soul of New France. In 
1609 he discovered the lake which now bears his name, and by 
1615 he had pushed as far west as Lake Huron. 

In 1609 he made a very serious mistake, which later aided the 
English and from which the French suffered severely. He took 
up the cause of the Algonquin Indians against their He incurs 
deadly foes the Iroquois, and helped to defeat the hatred 
latter on the shores of Lake Champlain. He won the iroquois 
skirmish, but he also gained the lasting enmity of the Indians, 
powerful Iroquois, who were known and dreaded over a large 
part of the continent. The hostility of these fierce savages 
turned the course of the French explorers to the north, and 
aided the English in their later contest with the French. In- 
stead of going directly up the St. Lawrence to the xhe course 
Great Lakes, the French explorers were forced by 

French ex- 

the Iroquois to bend their course to the north by the piorersis 
Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Lake Huron was turned to 

® ^ the north 

thus the first of the Great Lakes to be discovered ; by the 
then Ontario, Superior, Michigan, and Erie were found Iroquois, 
in the order named. The site of Detroit was not discovered, 
until 1669, but a settlement was made there as early as 1701, 
because the importance of the location was recognized. 

Champlain died in 1635, but Jesuits and other French explorers 
took up his work and enlarged the boundaries of New France. 
At the time of Champlain’s death the dominion of France had 
been extended as far west as the present state of Wisconsin. 


96 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 




iVt-' -.-i 


125. Other Explorers. — Other French explorers were not slow 
to follow in the wake of Champlain. Priests, traders, adventur- 
ers, and rangers flocked to the great Northwest. In 1641 some 
Jesuits said mass in the presence of two thousand naked Indians 
at Sault Ste. Marie, and in 1673 Father Jacques Marquette and 

Joliet, a trader, went down the 
Wisconsin River to the Missis- 
sippi. These were the flrst white 
men to set eyes upon the upper 
course of the great river which 
De Soto discovered in 1541. 

A little later (1679-1682) La 
Salle, “one of the most brilliant 
of American explorers,” as well 
as a man of iron determination, 
explored the entire Mississippi 
valley. In 1680 he went as far 
north as St. Anthony Falls, where 
Minneapolis now stands, and later 
(1682) made his way down the 
river to the Gulf of Mexico. He 
built a fort which he called St. 
Louis, and gave the name Louisi- 
ana to an indefinite tract of land 
on the banks of the Mississippi, 
in honor of King Louis of France. 

126. Objects of the French. — It should be noted that the 

French were not taking possession of the interior of the conti- 
The French nent for immediate colonization. They wished to 
were taking hold the Country for future occupation by their coun- 
future occu- trymen. To this end they established a chain of forts 
pation. important points along the St. Lawrence, the Great 

Lakes, and the Mississippi. These forts were centers of activity 
for the priest and the trader. In order to make their claim to 
the land more secure the explorers buried plates of lead with 
inscriptions on them laying claim to the land in the name of the 



Robert Cavelier de La Sallp:. 

The resolute and hardy Jesuit ex- 
plorer was born in France about 
1635. After exploring the interior 
of North America from the present 
state of Minnesota to the Gulf of 
Mexico, he was treacherously slain 
in what is now Texas, in 1687. 






STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 97 


king of France. Several of these plates have since been found. 
New France was thus founded, as has been said, with one end 
in the canebrakes of Louisiana, the other in the snows of Canada. 

It was plain that the French were occupying the territory to 
the north and west of the English colonies, and were thus pre- 
venting the English from extending their sway into the interior. 
In 1687 Governor Dongan of New York wrote to England as 
follows, If the French have all they pretend to 
have discovered in these parts, the king of England English 

will not have a hundred miles from the sea any- clash m the 

Ohio valley. 

where.” It was also plain that the English would 
not permit themselves, to be cut off from the fertile valleys of 
the Ohio and the Mississippi without a struggle. The clash 
came in the valley of the Ohio. Both the French and Eng- 
lish had entered this valley and both were anxious to retain it. 


Earlier French Wars 

Before following the story of the final contest of the French 
and English in North America, it will be well to note the several 
minor wars which took place between them. 

127 . King William’s War, 1689-1697. — When King William 
III came to the throne of England in 1689, a war broke out 
between France and England which is known in history as 
King William’s War. The war spread to America, and soon 
New France and New England were fighting the battles of the 
mother countries. In 1690 a company of New England men, 
under the command of Sir William Phips, captured Port Royal 
— now Annapolis — in Nova Scotia. Quebec was threatened, 
but was not taken, and a kind of guerrilla warfare was waged 
along the New York and New England border. The no territory 
contest was an indecisive one, although New England gained 
had about one hundred thovisand people and New KingWii- 
France but twelve thousand. The French, as usual, War. 
had the assistance of the Indians, and their governor, Fronte- 
nac, was able and active. The war came to an end with the 


98 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


treaty of Ryswick in 1697, whereby each nation received back 
the territory which it had lost during the war. The thrilling 
story of the French and English wars in the wilderness is well 
told by the American historian, Francis Parkman. 

128 . Queen Anne’s War, 1702-1713. — The next war between 
the French and English in America broke out when Queen 
Anne came to the throne in 1702. This war is known in 
America as Queen Anne’s War, and in Europe as the War of 
the Spanish Succession, because an attempt was made to place 
a French prince on the Spanish throne. There was very little 
real fighting done and not much open warfare. Port Royal was 
again taken, and again an effort to take Quebec failed. Again 
the French and the Indians ravaged the New Eng- 
land frontier. The torch was applied to the settler’s 
cabin, and the scalping knife and the tomahawk were 
doing their deadly work. Finally the peace of 


in Queen 
Anne’s War 


The English 
obtained 
Acadia, 

Newfound- 
land, and 

B^ay^c^ouTtty E^trecht put an end to the war in 1713. The Eng- 
lish gained important territory in this war. The 
French gave up Acadia, Newfoundland, and the 
Hudson Bay country. The English changed the name of Aca- 
dia to Nova Scotia, and Port Royal was named Annapolis in 
honor of Queen Anne. 

129 . King George’s War, 1744-1748. — The land had rest for 
thirty years after the peace of Utrecht in 1713. In the reign of 
King George II of England, however, hostilities were renewed 
in a war known as King George’s War. The most important 
and picturesque event in this war was the capture by the Eng- 
lish, or rather by the New England colonists, of Louisburg on 
Cape Breton Island in 1745. In that year four thousand of the 
young men of the colonies moved against the Canadian strong- 
hold and after a brilliant siege of six weeks succeeded in taking 
the fortress. The fall of Louisburg was greeted with shouts of 
joy both in England and in America, but when the war came to 
a close with the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, Louisburg 
was given back to the French. The return of this fortress did 
much to turn the colonies away from the mother country. 



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SCALE OF MILFS 




STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANGE AND GREAT BRITAIN 99 


The French and Indian War 


1754-1763 

The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle simply afforded a breathing 
spell for the two contending nations. It was plain that the war 
would soon go on and would continue until either France or 
England was supreme in North America. 

130. The Ohio Valley. — During the sixty years of these 
intercolonial wars the French priests and traders were busy, and 
the English explorers were not idle. The advance French 
guards of each nation had penetrated into the valley and English 
of the Ohio and were destined to clash at the junction 

of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, where the the Ohio 
city of Pittsburg now stands. The Erench had taken 
possession of this locality and had buried leaden plates bearing 
the royal arms of France to indicate that fact. The Ohio 
Company also claimed the region and was authorized to use 
force, if necessary, to drive out the French. Both nations were 
making ready for the conflict which every one saw was destined 
to come. 

131. Claims. — Perhaps it might be well to note at this time 
the extent of the claims of the English and Erench. The 
English had actual possession of the Atlantic coast from Nova 
Scotia to Florida and had recently penetrated into the valley of 
the Ohio. The French, on the other hand, claimed all of the 
land drained by the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, the Missouri, 
and their tributaries, as well as that surrounding the Great 
Lakes. The Erench claims thus extended from the Alleghanies 
on the east to the Rockies on the west and from Lake Superior 
and the Lake of the Woods on the north to the Gulf of Mexico 
on the south. A line of posts had been strung along the St. 
Lawrence, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi in such a way 
as to conflne the English to the eastern part of the continent. 
It was plain that the enterprising Englishman would not submit 
to such an imprisonment. He loved exploration and conquest 


lOO 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


and delighted in pushing his way into the interior with gun, ax, 
and canoe. 

In the meantime the French were not depending upon their 
leaden plates alone to hold the valley of the Ohio, but were busy 
in increasing the number of their posts. In 1752 they began 
to string a line of forts from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. A 
log fort of rude construction was made at Presque Isle, where 
the city of Erie now stands. Forts Le Boeuf and Venango 
were also erected in western Pennsylvania on the present sites 
of Waterford and Franklin. 

132 . ' Governor Dinwiddie warns the French not to intrude on 
English Territory. — This activity on the part of the French 
aroused Robert Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia. Dinwiddie 
was a leader among the English colonists. He was a Scotch- 
man of rugged honesty, and of good ability. He was, moreover, 
intensely interested in the movements of the French for two 
reasons. In the first place, the Virginians claimed the Ohio 
valley because their charter of 1609 gave them all the land 
‘Hrom sea to sea, west and northwest.” In the second place, 
Dinwiddie was a member of the Ohio Company, to whom the 
king had given five hundred thousand acres of land in the Ohio 
valley. For these reasons the governor was the first to act 
on the part of the English. 

133 . George Washington carries Dinwiddie^s Message to the 
French. — The action of Governor Dinwiddie introduces us to 
George Washington, the foremost character in American history. 
Washington was born in Virginia on February 22, 1732, and at 
the age of sixteen was employed to make a survey of the estates 
of Lord Fairfax lying beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains. He 
was engaged in this work for three years and gained a valuable 
experience. He built up a rugged physical constitution and 
became familiar with the geography of the country and with the 
manners, customs, and the feelings of the people, both white 
and red. Upon finishing his task in 1751 he became one of the 
adjutant generals of the Virginia militia, at the age of nineteen. 

It was this rugged young Virginian whom Governor Din- 


STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN loi 


widdie called to his assistance against the French. In the fall 
of 1753 the governor decided to warn them 
that they were encroaching on English terri- 
tory and to ask them to withdraw. He chose 
Washington to carry the message. On the 
very day upon which he received his instruc- 
tions the young surveyor set out on his peril- 
ous journey. For weeks he pushed ’washing- 

on with his little band of white men ton’s jour- 
1 r T T *1 ney is one 

and a few Indians as guides, over of (dangers 
mountains, through forests, and and hard- 
across rivers filled with floating 
ice. He Anally found St. Pierre, the com- 
mander of the French, at Fort Fe Boeuf, and 
there delivered to him the letter of Governor 
Dinwiddle. After receiving the reply of the 
French commander he set out for home. 

While crossing the swift Monongahela on a 
shaky raft of rude construction, he narrowly 
missed going to the bottom ; and on another 
occasion he barely escaped death at the hands 
of hostile Indians. He Anally arrived at Wil- 
liamsburg, Virginia, in midwinter of 1754, 
after an absence of nearly three months and 
a journey of seven hundred and fifty miles. 

Washington’s trip into the interior is a pic- 
turesque incident in American history, but 
the reply which he brought from St. Pierre 
was an unsatisfactory one, as had been ex- 
pected. The French paid no attention to 
the warnings and demands of the English. 

They had no intention of turning their backs 
upon the fertile valley of the Ohio. On the 
contrary, they pushed on to the south, to the 
junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, drove out 
the English from the place, and built Fort Duquesne where the 



Washington’s Pocket 
Case, used on his 
Surveying Trips. 

At seventeen Wash- 
ington v as one of the 
most skillful and accu- 
rate surveyors in Vir- 
ginia, and at eighteen 
he was appointed pub- 
lic surveyor. In the 
practice of his profes- 
sion he obtained a 
good knowledge of 
the interior of the 
country and of the 
Indians. This knowl- 
edge was afterward of 
great value to him. 



102 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


city of Pittsburg now cStands. This occurred in the spring of 
1754. The war had really commenced, although it was not 
formally declared until 1756. 

Before taking up the story of the war it will be well to note 
briefly the 'Conditions under which the contest was begun. A 
review of these conditions will show that the English had the 
advantage in most respects. 

134 . England seemed Stronger than France in 1754. — In 1754 
France and England were the leading nations of the world. 
France claimed to be the strongest power in Europe, and her 
claim was not an idle boast. She had a large and well-disci- 
plined army ; yet the power of England was constantly increas- 
ing, and she was particularly strong on the sea. 

For the first few years the mother countries took no direct 
part in the war. It was carried on, for the most part, by the 
French and English colonists in America. Here the English 
had the advantage in numbers, as there were one million one 
hundred thousand English colonists and only eighty thousand 
French. 

In the matter of government the English colonists also had 
an advantage. New France, on the whole, had not 
been well governed. Some few of the governors, like 
Champlain and Frontenac, were good and able men, 
but under the rule of many of the governors there 
was much dishonesty in office. 

Then again, the English colonists had a large measure of 
self-government, while the PTench had practically none. They 
had no voice in the selection of their officers, but were governed 
directly from Paris. This latter fact was an aid to the French 
in one respect. While the English colonists found it difficult 
to raise volunteer troops, the PTench commanders could practi- 
cally force the whole male population of military age into the 
army. However, the lack of self-government and compulsion 
from without took away some of the enthusiasm and patriotism 
from the French troops. 

135 . The Albany Congress, 1754. — In September, 1753, about 


The govern- 
ment of 
Britain was 
better than 
that of 
France. 



Philadelphia, about 1754. 

Philadelphia at this time and long afterwards was the largest city in the country. The spire 
on the left is that of the old Pennsylvania Statehouse, now called Independence Hall. This 
picture is from an old print which shows the eastern side of the city from the Delaware River, 






STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 103 


the time that Washington was preparing to set out on his 
errand to the French, and when war between France and 
England seemed certain, the English government instructed 
the colonial governors to send commissioners or delegates to 
meet in a congress at Albany. The objects of the meeting 
were to make a treaty with the Iroquois Indians and to adopt a 
plan of union for the colonies. 

In June, 1754, about two months after the English had been 
dislodged from the present site of Pittsburg, delegates from 
New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Mary- 
land met at Albany. They made a treaty with the gress was 

Indians and declared that a union of the colonies held to unite 

. . the colonies, 

was absolutely necessary for their security and de- 
fense.” Franklin submitted a plan of union, but it was not 
adopted for reasons which have already been explained 
(§ II5). 

136. Washington's Expedition. — Washington returned from 
his famous mission to the French at Fort Le Boeuf in January, 
1754. The reply which he brought from St. Pierre made it 
plain to Governor Dinwiddie that the time had come to put an 
army in the field. Preparations were made at once to that end. 
The legislature of Virginia made an appropriation for the sup- 
port of the troops, and in March Washington, at the head of 
seventy-five men, set out for the headwaters of the Ohio. While 
on his way, and at the present site of Cumberland, Maryland, 
information came to him that the English had been driven out 
and that the French were constructing a fort where the Alle- 
ghany and Monongahela join to form the Ohio. This informa- 
tion caused Washington to change his plans. Instead Washington 
of pushing on to Fort Duquesne he built a breast- defeats the 

^ ^ , French near 

work which he very appropriately called Fort Neces- Fort Neces- 
sity. While he was thus engaged, the French appeared, 
and Washington gave battle, taking them by surprise. It was 
soon over. The French party numbered thirty-two men. Ten 
of these were killed and twenty-one were captured, leaving one 
lone survivor to tell the tale to his people. This was the first 


104 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


bloodshed of the contest known in America as the French and 
Indian War, and in Europe as the Seven Years’ War. 

Washington then took up the work again on Fort Necessity, 
and on July 3 the French appeared and demanded a surrender. 

Washington declined, and the fighting went on all 

He surren- ^ ' 1 1 i 

dered Fort day. At night his men were hungry and tired, their 

Necessity, ammunition gone, and their guns made useless, in 
July 3, 1754. o ^ o 

many cases, by the rain. They were also outnum- 
bered four to one. The English surrendered, but were allowed 
to march away with their arms. This ended Washington’s first 
campaign. 

137 . General Braddock comes to America, 1755. — In the fol- 
lowing year, 1755, the English took the aggressive, while the 
French determined to fight on the defensive. Major General 
Edward Braddock came over from England to be commander- 
in-chief of the forces in America. Braddock was an able man 
and a brave soldier, but he knew nothing of the conditions and 
methods of frontier warfare. His military tactics which had 
been so successful on European battlefields failed utterly in the 
forests of North America. 

It was difficult to plan a campaign against New France. 
The domains of the French were surrounded by dense forests 
through which it was not easy for an army to hew its 
way. Nature had left three great openings, however, 
and the English planned to make use of them. They 
determined to send one army into New France by 
way of Lake George, Lake Champlain, and the St. 
Lawrence River. Another was to ascend the Hudson and the 
Mohawk rivers, and pass along the southern shore of Lake 
Ontario to the Niagara River. The third was to ascend the 
Potomac to Will’s Creek (later named Fort Cumberland) and then 
cut its way across the country to Fort Duquesne. 

138 . Braddock defeated July 9, 1755. — General Braddock took 
command in person of this third expedition. He started in the 
spring of I755> after a tiresome march of twenty-seven days 
reached Fort Cumberland in May. After drilling the colonial 


The British 
planned to 
send three 
expeditions 
against the 
French. 


STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 105 


troops at this place for a time he set out on his march of one 
hundred and thirty miles through primeval forests to Fort 
Duquesne. The journey was an exceedingly difficult one. 
Much time was spent in felling trees, making bridges, and con^ 
structing roads over quagmires for the passage of the army. 
The progress was slow, the army making on an average only a 
little more than three miles a day. 

General Braddock led the forces over a very difficult course, 
.taking almost no advantage of the natural waterways. Wash- 
ington, who knew the country well, was a member of the com- 
pany, but his advice in regard to the route was rarely sought by 
the headstrong commander. Finally, on the 9th of July, Brad- 
dock reached a point on the Monongahela River only eight or ten 
miles from the fort which he intended to attack. On this spot, 
still called Braddock’s field, and now dotted with factories and 
furnaces, there occurred one of the most pitiable massacres in 
all our colonial history. While Braddock was making his pain- 
ful progress toward the fort, he was watched by the scouts sent 
out by the French, while he himself sent out no scouts at all. 

In the meantime there was dismay within the walls of Fort 
Duquesne. The French commander felt that he could not hold 
out against Braddock’s force of fifteen hundred men xhe English 
and was about ready to abandon the fort. Finally a arejed^into 
reckless adventurer, Beaujeu by name, proposed that and 
a trap be set for the English in a ravine through slaughtered. 

which their course would lead them. This was done. The rest 
is soon told. The French and Indians, hiding behind trees and 
hilltops, poured a deadly fire into the ranks of the English as 
they marched along in regular order. For two or three hours 
on a hot July day the English regulars and the colonial militia 
faced the fire, returning it as well as they could, while the 
forests and hills echoed with the war whoops of the savages. 
Braddock had forbidden his men to break ranks and to seek the 
shelter of the trees ; consequently there was little for them to do 
but to furnish a mark for the enemy to shoot at. We would 
fight,” they said, ‘Gf we could see anybody to fight with.” 


io6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Both the regulars and the militia displayed the highest 
bravery. Two horses were shot under Washington, and four 
bullets pierced his coat. Braddock, too, fought well, if not 
wisely. He lost five horses in the fray, was wounded, died two 
days after the battle, and was buried near by. It was Wash- 
ington who placed him in his forest grave and read over his 
silent form the beautiful burial service of the Church of England. 
The day was utterly lost. About eight hundred of the English 
were killed or wounded, while the enemy had about sixty killed 
and wounded out of a force of more than eight hundred men. 

139 . Acadians were Removed from Nova Scotia, 1755. — Only 
two months after the defeat of Braddock the deportation of the 
inhabitants of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, began. The story of this 
simple people is a sad one, and Longfellow in his “ Evangeline” 
has not exaggerated very greatly the wrongs which they suffered. 

It will be remembered that the French province of Acadia 
was surrendered to England by the peace of Utrecht in 1713. 
A treaty of peace, however, cannot change the nationality or the 
feelings of a people, and the Acadians in their hearts remained 
loyal to France and to the Catholic religion. This incensed their 
English masters. The poor people were governed in an op- 
pressive and tyrannical manner, and finally they refused to take 
the oath of allegiance to the English king. Later, when they 
were ready to do so, the English declined to permit them. It 
was decreed by the British that the Acadians should be forced, 
as a war measure, to leave their native land. This decree was 
carried into effect with unnecessary harshness and severity. 
About seven thousand of them were seized and scattered along 
the Atlantic coast from Canada to Louisiana, to get on as well 
as they could. The emigration began in September, 
and was not completed until the following December. 
It cannot be justly claimed that the Acadians were 
wholly loyal to Great Britain, and their deportation 
may possibly be justified as a war measure, but there can be no 
excuse whatever for the severity with which the orders of the 
government were carried out. 


Harsh 
measures 
were used 
by the 
English. 


STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 107 

The Seven Years’ War, 1756-1763 

140 = England formally declares War, 1756. — All of this fight- 
ing occurred without a declaration of war, but on May 18, 1756, 
England formally declared war against France. The Seven Years’ 
War which ensued was a terrible contest in which The French 
France, Russia, and Austria fought against Prussia and Indian 

in 

England. William Pitt of England, one of the greatest Americawas 
statesmen in the history of the world, and Frederick a part of the 

Seven 

the Great of Prussia, one of the world’s greatest war- Years’ War 
riors, did much to bring about the success of England Europe, 
and Prussia. The result was that England drove France out of 
India and America, and that Prussia got a firm hold in Europe. 

1756 

After the formal declaration of war the English apparently 
made preparations to carry on the contest with more vigor. In 
June, 1756, General Abercrombie came over from England, and 
General Loudon followed in July. Still, nothing of importance 
was done. The French were more alert. Montcalm, an able 
commander ‘‘of the old sound stock,” had reached Quebec in May, 
and was not slow to take advantage of the inactivity of the Eng- 
lish generals. He strengthened the French forts, captured Fort 
Oswego on Lake Ontario, and later withdrew in safety behind 
the walls of Fort Ticonderoga, near the southern extremity of 
Lake Champlain. 

It was impossible to carry on the war in the regular way dur- 
ing the winter months on account of the severe northern climate 
and the almost impassable forest tangles, yet hostilities xhe war in 
did not entirely cease. Small companies of men on winter, 
skates and snowshoes traversed the frozen waterways, and 
ranged through the forests, defying the wintry blasts for the 
purpose of striking the enemy an unexpected blow. Nothing 
decisive, however, could be accomplished in this way. 


io8 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


1757 

In the following year Montcalm was again active. He sang 
the war songs and attended the war feasts of the neighboring 
Indians and enlisted many of them under the banner of the 
French. By the middle of the summer he had gathered at 
Ticonderoga a formidable force of six thousand Frenchmen and 
Canadians and two thousand Indians. 

141 . The Indian Massacre at Fort William Henry. — On the 
1st of August this lawless and bloodthirsty band bore down 
upon the English at Fort William Henry, on the southern 
extremity of Lake George. The fort was taken after a stubborn 
resistance of five days. Three hundred of the Englishmen were 
killed, many more were wounded, and an epidemic of smallpox 
broke out in their midst. Nothing remained but surrender. 
Montcalm was a generous victor and allowed the English to 
march out of the fort with all the honors of war. The Indians, 
however, were not so honorable. After having promised Mont- 
calm that they would live up to the condi- 
tions of the surrender, they fell upon the 
English unexpectedly at dawn of the fol- 
lowing day and massacred them in large 
numbers. In spite of the threats and ei> 
treaties of Montcalm, seventy men were 
killed — even the sick and wounded in the 
hospitals did not escape — and about two 
hundred were taken captive. The torch 
completed the scene of destruction. The 
fort was burned and the bodies of the dead 
were cremated. 

142 . William Pitt guides the War for 
the English. — The military record for the 
year 1757 is a dismal one for the English, 
but preparations were being made which brought better things 
to pass in the two following years. The most important event 
occurred in June, 1757. William Pitt, the Great Commoner, as 



William Pitt. 


First Earl of Chatham. He 
was a steadfast friend of the 
American colonies and con- 
stantly opposed oppressive 
measures against them. 
Born in 1708, died in 1778. 



STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN 109 


he was then called, obtained control of the government of Eng- 
land, and his great power at once made itself felt. He planned 
to reduce the French by striking them at Louisburg, Quebec, 
and Fort Duquesne. There was nothing new in this plan of 
campaign, but he saw to it that men of action and wisdom were 
chosen to conduct the war in America. The leadership was 
placed in the hands of Amherst, Forbes, Howe, and Wolfe. 
Amherst was wise and prudent ; Forbes was the man of iron,” 
a tried and successful soldier ; Howe was a manly, able, and 
lovable character ; and Wolfe was the greatest of them all — 
a man who had distinguished himself on many battlefields, 
although now but thirty years of age. Evidently greater suc- 
cesses were in store for the English army. 

1758 

143 . Louisburg Falls. — On the 7th of June, 1758, an Eng- 
lish fleet under Boscawen carrying ten thousand men under 
the command of Amherst and Wolfe appeared before Louis- 
burg. The English were met with a galling fire, but the gallant 
Wolfe, wading through the shallow water in order to land 
quickly, led his men in a spirited attack on the fortifications. 
The place was taken, and as a result 5637 prisoners were sent to 
England. 

144 . Abercrombie is repulsed by Montcalm at Ticonderoga. — 

While Wolfe and Amherst were taking Louisburg, another 
English force under Abercrombie and Howe marched on 
Ticonderoga. Abercrombie, known among the colonists as 
‘‘ Nabbiecrombie,” was a timid and faltering leader, while Howe, 
“the mirror of military virtue,” was the real leader of the expe- 
dition. Howe was killed in a skirmish with some French strag- 
glers, and the English army under Abercrombie was defeated 
with terrible slaughter by Montcalm with a force not one fourth 
as large. The English fought bravely, but were poorly com- 
manded. “A braver or more stupid conflict,” says Professor 
Sloane, “is not recorded on the page of history.” When the 


I lO 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


retreat was ordered, two thousand Englishmen were left dead 
before the walls of the stronghold. Abercrombie returned to 
England and took a seat in Parliament. 

145. Washington and Armstrong capture Fort Duquesne. — 
In November George Washington and John Armstrong bore 
down upon the Erench at Fort Duquesne.' When they reached 
the place, they found nothing but smoking ruins. The French, 
despairing of holding the fort, had set fire to the place and had 

departed on the day before 
the arrival of the English. 
The English flag was hoisted, 
and a day of thanksgiving 
was observed. A little later 
the company went out to 
Braddock’s ill-fated field and 
buried the whitening skele- 
tons of the victims of three 
years before. A small gar- 
rison was left at the place 
and the name of Fort Du- 
quesne was changed to Pitts- 
burg in honor of England’s 
greatest statesman. 

146. Wolfe captures Quebec, 
1759- — The English were 
fast pushing on to the crown- 
ing glory at Quebec. Pitt 
mapped out the* campaign 
for the year with wonderful skill. Amherst was miade com- 
mander-in-chief, although Wolfe stands out most prominently 
in the operations of I759- It ^^.s he who took Quebec after 
a brilliant attack and thus virtually ended the war. The story 
is a thrilling one. Wolfe was frail of body but wonderfully 
alert of mind. He saw that a crisis was coming. It was his 
greatest wish, he said, to be without pain for a few days and 
able to do his duty.” His task was a difficult one. Quebec 



James Wolfe. 

The Conqueror of Quebec was born in Eng- 
land in 1 726, and was a noted soldier at the 
age of twenty. He fell at Quebec in 1759. 


STRUGGLE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN in 


was the strongest fortified place on the American continent and 
was defended, moreover, by the gallant Montcalm at the head 
of a fine body of men. It was located on a high eminence far 
above the river and was thus very difficult to reach. But the 
shrewd and dashing Wolfe determined to lead his men under 
cover of the darkness up a steep winding and narrow path to 
the plains above. It was a perilous undertaking, and Wolfe felt 
the seriousness of the attempt. 

At two in the morning the signal was given for the army to 
move. The men crept noiselessly up the steep bank of the 
river, being compelled to drop on their hands and knees where 
the hill was almost perpendicular. But they reached the top, 
and at dawn on the 13th of September Wolfe with his five 
thousand men was in possession of the now historic Plains of 
Abraham. Montcalm was completely surprised and saw at once 
that he must either fight or surrender. He was not the kind of 
man to surrender unless compelled to do so; hence he gave battle. 
In the terrible conflict which followed, the gallant Wolfe was 
wounded twice, and a third time fatally. He was carried to 
the rear, refused surgical assistance, and died giving his com- 
mands to the army. 

Montcalm also fell fighting bravely. He was wounded but 
did not withdraw, and while rallying his troops was struck 
by the fatal bullet. He died on the day after the battle and 
was buried in a convent chapel in the city which he defended 
so well. It is said that his grave was made for the most part 
by the bursting of a shell during the bombardment. In the 
governor’s* garden at Quebec there is a fitting memorial to the 
two brave men. A monument bears the name of Wolfe on one 
side and that of Montcalm on the other, with the inscription : 
‘Walor gave a united death. History a united fame. Posterity 
a united monument.” 

Wolfe had won the day. Quebec fell on the i8th of Sep- 
tember, and the fate of the French was practically New France 
sealed. 

On the 8th of September of the following year Montreal fell. 


II2 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


New France was no more, and the English were supreme on 
the continent of North America. 



147 . The Treaty of Paris, 1763. — The war went on in Europe 

for three years longer, and a treaty 
of peace was not made until 1763. 
By this treaty, France surrendered 
to Great Britain all of her posses- 
sions on the continent east of the 
Mississippi River except New Or- 
leans. All of Canada and the east- 
ern half of the great Mississippi 
valley thus fell into the hands of 
the British. France was permitted 
to retain the West Indies and two 

The treaty islands, St. Pierre 

makes Great and Miquelon, in the 

Gulf of St. Lawrence, for 

preme in ’ 

North fishing purposes. Spain, 
America. 


Louis Joseph Montcalm. 


which had been drawn 


The brave “ Defender of Quebec ” 
was born in P'rance in 1712, and 
entered the PTench army at fourteen. 
In Canada he displayed “ skill, cour- 
age, and humanity.” He said that 
he would conquer the English or 
“ find his grave under the ruins of 
the colony.” He fell defending 
the flag of his country in 1759. 


into the war as an ally of France, 
surrendered Florida to England 
and received Louisiana from 
France in return. The treaty was 
concluded at Paris on the lOth of 
February, 1763. It marked the 


close of the struggle between 
France and Great Britain which had been going on for three 
quarters of a century for possession of North America. 


FACTS AND DATES 


1603. 

1608. 

1754-1763. 

1754 - 

1755 - 
1759 - 

1763- 


Champlain sailed up the St. Lawrence River. 
Champlain founded Quebec. 

The French and Indian War. 

The Albany Congress. 

Braddock’s defeat. 

Quebec fell. 

Great Britain supreme in North America. 


CHAPTER IX 


THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

148 . Great Britain triumphs over France. — The treaty of 
1763 marks the close of a long struggle, nearly three quarters 
of a century of conflict, between Great Britain and France for 
territory in America. P'rance had lost. Great Britain had won. 
A little over half a century before it seemed that the power of 
France would be triumphant, and her influence dominant in 
America. By 1690, besides their well-grounded hopes of em- 
pire in India and their power in Cayenne, the French had in 
North America, Canada, Acadia (Nova Scotia), Cape Breton 
Island, the fishing banks of Newfoundland, the mouth of the 
Mississippi, and inland Louisiana. They held North America 
by its two ends, the mouths of its two great rivers.” But by 
the Seven Years’ War France lost her merchant and military 
marine and her hope of control in India ; and in America she 
gave up Canada to Britain and Louisiana to Spain and retired 
from the continent. France ceased forever to be an American 
power. 

The power of Great Britain was wonderfully advanced by this 
famous war. Besides her empire in India she gained Canada 
from France, and Florida from Spain, and thus became the 
owner of all North America west to the Mississippi River. 
France had now been removed from the north side England 
of the colonies and Spain from their south side, and gamed much 

^ territory in 

the colonists ‘'were no longer between the upper and the Seven 
the nether millstone.” Could England now provide Years’ War. 

for the peaceful government of these colonies, the growth of 
their trade, and their inevitable expansion toward the west ? 
Thus we see that the Seven Years’ War was a world war, and 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


114 


as the result of it England had to face the problem of governing 
a world empire. 

149 . British Government. — She had to do this at a time when 
her government was corrupt and when a stupid and obstinate 
king was coming to the throne who would no longer trust great 
ministers to rule. The cause of the American Revolution lay 
in England as well as in America, and one of its principal 
causes was George III. George’s grandfather, George II 
(1727-1760), had complained that England was a country in 
which ‘‘the minister was the king.” George Ill’s mother said 
The govern- to him when he came to the throne, “ George, be 
king ! ” She meant for him to take the government 
king obsti- into his own hands. George III tried to follow this 
foolish advice. 

He did not attempt to govern without Parliament, by 

having a standing army and levying taxes without the consent 

of the people’s representatives, as the Stuart kings had done ; 

but he attempted to control these representatives. He would 

not choose for his ministers the great men of the realm, like 

Pitt and P'ox and Burke. He set about systematically to get a 

body of supporters in Parliament who came to be known as the 

“ King’s friends,” and who could control enough votes 
The king . . ^ 

tried to con- that body to do what the king wanted. George 

troi Parha- (Jq bribes and threats, titles 

ment. . 

and appointments, and by royal attentions and favors 
which were then, even more than now, powerful social forces in 
controlling public men. Thus the king managed Parliament 
by a kind of bribery. 

Members of Parliament did not represent the people. In 

The common America the representatives, who taxed and gov- 

peopiehad enied, represented a body of people who lived in cer- 
no influence 1 

in Parlia- tain definite local areas, in towns and counties. In 

ment. England representation was of interests and classes, 

not of districts of people, and many of the populous manufactur- 
ing cities in north and central England that had grown up in 
recent years had no representation at all in Parliament, while 


I 



120 Longitude West 100 from Greenwich 80 


L.L.PQATES, ENGR’G'CO., N.Y. 


EUROPEAN POSSESSIONS 
1763 

SHOWING RESULTS OF 

J’rencli and Indian W ar 


I 




^ \S. 


a 



AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


1 16 

little ^‘rotten boroughs,” like Gatton and Old Sarum,” consist- 
ing only of a green mound and a ruined wall, still had mem- 
bers of Parliament merely because they had had them long ago. 
Thus we see that Great Britain was facing new colonial problems 
with a stupid and wrong-headed king and a deformed and 
corrupt legislature. It was a situation calculated to promote 
bad policies and trouble with the colonies. 

150 . British Debts and Expenses. — Great Britain had been at 
great expense in the late war. Her debt had more than doubled. 
Her expenses in America for colonial government were now to 
be nearly five times what they had been before the war. It was 
thought to be necessary to send soldiers and ships to America 
to prevent France from attempting to recover what she had 
lost, and to protect the colonists from the dangerous Indians 
upon the frontier. No part of the British Empire had received 
more benefit from the Seven Years’ War than America, and it 
was thought that it was now only reasonable and fair that the 
colonies should help bear some of the burden of their protection 
and support. The Indians had gotten on better with the French 
than with the English, and they were not ready to submit to 
Pontiac’s English rule. Pontiac’s Conspiracy which led to a 
War, 1763. great Indian war lasting for fourteen months, result- 
ing in the massacre of hundreds of families on the frontier and 
the burning of their homes, seemed to show the need for 
protection by English soldiers. 

In this situation, when Lord Grenville came into power, 
under George HI, in 1763, he found the landlords seeking to 
Grenville shift some of the burdens of increasing taxation on to 
caused three xhQ colonies, and the commercial classes trying. more 

unfortunate , ^ 

measures to fully to monopolize the colonial trade. Under the 
be passed, influence of these two classes Grenville, who was not 
much of a statesman, instituted a new colonial policy. He de- 
termined upon three measures which a great English historian 
says produced the American Revolution : — 

1. To enforce the trade laws. 

2. To quarter in America a part of the British army. 


CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


117 


3. To raise by Parliamentary taxation a part of the money 
necessary for the army’s support. 

151 . The Trade Laws. — For more than a hundred years 
before the quarrel with the mother country began, Parliament 
had, from time to time, passed ‘‘navigation acts,” to regulate 
colonial trade. The purpose of these laws was to secure for 
. British subjects a monopoly of this trade. They were more 
liberal and more favorable to the colonies than those of other 
nations, but in many ways they restricted colonial trade. The 
British were seeking to beat the Dutch and the French in 
trade, and they wanted colonies as a market for British mer- 
chandise and as a place from which needed supplies could be 
obtained. 

Great Britain wished to carry her own goods over the sea and 
to increase the number of her ships and sailors. So the first Navi- 
gation Act, passed in 1660, provided that no goods should be 
imported into the colonies except in British, or colonial, vessels 

manned by British seamen. Colonial manufactures 

. Great 

were to be suppressed. New England timber could not Britain 
be freely exchanged for the molasses and sugar from wished to 
the French West Indies. Only British subjects and colonies as a 
vessels could trade with the colonies, and the Ameri- 

revenue. 

cans had to sell all their exports in British ports, and 
all goods brought from Europe had first to be landed in Great 
Britain. All this added to the profits of British merchants, some- 
times at the expense of American merchants. 

Now these restrictive trade laws had not been carefully 
enforced. Colonial merchants, especially those in New Eng- 
land, had evaded them. John Adams said they had ^ , 
ceased to be used, and their enforcement was no laws had 
longer expected. Much smuggling was indulged in. 

It was the attempt to prevent this evasion of the trade 
duties that had led to the celebrated “ Writs of Assistance ” in 
1761. British customhouse officers applied to the courts for 
writs authorizing them to search merchants’ stores and houses 
for smuggled goods. These writs, legal and proper under some 


ii8 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


circumstances, might be used as a means of annoyance and 

injustice. They could be transferred by one person to another, 

and report was not bound to be made to the court to show how 

they had been used and what houses had been 

posed the Searched. James Otis, an eloquent young lawyer 

“ Writs of Massachusetts, resigned as state’s attorney to 
Assistance.” i i r • • i t i 

speak, without fee, against these writs; and John 

Adams, who heard Otis’s famous speech in 1761, said that Otis 

was ‘‘ like a flame of fire,” and that ''then and there American 

independence was born.” 

The British ministry now proposed strictly to enforce these 

laws. It had been costing three dollars to collect one dollar of 

British revenue at American ports. Revenue ofh- 

try to en- cers who had been living in England, drawing their 

force the neglecting their duties, were ordered to their 

trade laws. ^ ^ ^ m . , . , . 

posts, or naval officers were appointed m their stead. 

The governors were urged to suppress smuggling, and ships 
were stationed on the American coasts for this purpose. Ameri- 
can ships and goods were seized, and offenders were tried in 
naval courts, without a jury. It is quite clear that if these hard 
trade laws were to be rigidly enforced the Americans would find 
it to their interest to do without British protection, as they were 
now able to do since the French had been driven from Canada. 

152 . The Quartering Policy. — The colonists had a dread 
of a standing army. They had not liked the king’s troops in 
England, and their fathers had opposed the Stuart 
kings in the seventeenth century for quartering sol- 
diers on them. They liked militia better than regu- 
lars, and they felt that they had always readily 
responded with their own militia in time of danger. 
Now that there was less danger than before, the 
Americans felt able to protect themselves. They 
believed that the purpose of bringing troops to America was 
to strengthen the royal authority and prevent the violation of 
the revenue laws. They did not want to pay for the support 
of these soldiers, and they took the ground that soldiers could 


The Amer- 
icans felt 
able to pro- 
tect them- 
selves and 
objected to 
providing 
for British 
troops. 


CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


119 

be stationed among them only by the consent of their colonial 
assemblies. With the Annual Mutiny Act of 1765, to provide 
for the control and discipline of the army, Parliament passed a 
Quartering Act, to provide for the accommodation of the larger 
number of soldiers to be sent to America. New York refused 
to furnish barracks for these troops, and Parliament suspended 
the New York Assembly (1767) until it would make amends. 
The British rulers ought to have seen that if they persisted in 
this policy it would surely lead to a serious quarrel. 

153 . The Taxing Policy; the Stamp Act, 1765. — To get 
money for his troops and to enforce his laws the king or his 
minister proposed an entirely new scheme of taxation. In an 
almost empty Parliament where there was very little interest in 
the matter, a law was passed which in its consequences ‘'must 
be deemed one of the most momentous legislative acts in the 
history of mankind.” This was the famous, or infamous. Stamp 
Act, levying duties on legal documents, wills, licenses, news- 
papers, pamphlets, etc. The proceeds of the tax were to go toward 
paying England’s expenses in governing America, which were 
now about ^1,700,000 a year; and it was thought the Stamp 
Act would produce about ^500,000, or nearly one third of this 
amount. Offenses against the act were to be tried in admiralty 
courts, without a jury. 

The old system of getting money for the king’s wars or his 
colonial government was by “ requisitions ” ; that is, the king, 
through his royal governor, asked each colony for the money, 
stating the purpose of his request ; and the colonial assemblies, 
in which the people were represented, levied the tax if they 
chose to do so. Grenville did not believe that all the colonies 
would furnish money in this way, and it is pretty certain that 
they would not have done so. They did not like the purpose 
for which the money was wanted. Grenville believed the stamp 
tax was as easy as any (as it probably was), and he gave the 
colonies a year in which to agree upon a better taxing measure, 
or one more to their liking ; but he gave notice that the tax must 
be provided for, or Parliament would assess it. 


I 20 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


A storm of protest arose among the Americans against this 
enforced taxation by a legislature in which they were not repre- 
sented. When the stamp officers were announced, riots occurred. 

The Sons of Liberty ” marched through the streets 

The Amen- . , ® 

cans protest shoutiiig, “ Liberty, property, and no stamps ; ” they 

st^mp^Act the stamp officers to resign, and pulled 

down an image of the king ; the people agreed not 

to import English goods, and they destroyed the stamps, so 

that when the time came to enforce the act (November i, 1765), 

in many colonies there were no stamps to be had. 

The Americans did not wish to be represented in Parliament, 
for they would be in a small minority there, and that would not 
save them from the tax. Nor was it merely paying they ob- 
jected to, for they had always been ready to pay a fair share 
for their own support and defense and to raise troops and fight 
against the enemies of Great Britain. They were even willing, 
for the sake of the whole empire, to submit to a rea- 
sonable external tariff tax on imports. They held 

interna! ^ domestic mtemal tax like the stamp tax, 

taxes. ^ 

whose purpose was not to regulate trade but to get rev- 
enue^ and to make taxes lighter in England, — that such a tax 
could be levied only by their colonial assemblies. They resolved 
to resist this tax and not to give up the right to tax themselves, 
which was a right of Englishmen as old as Magna Charta. 
In doing this they only stood by English principles and exam- 
ples. The principle that taxation and representation are not 
to be separated and that no people should be taxed except by 
themselves or their representatives, ‘‘ lay at the very root of 
the English idea of liberty.” The English people had asserted 
this principle time and again — in Magna Charta (1215), in the 
Petition of Right (1628), and in the “Glorious Revolution” of 
1688. 

154. Patrick Henry stirred the House of Burgesses. — Virginia 
sounded the first note of alarm, and sent forth the first public 
reassertion of this old English doctrine on taxation, destined 
to be proclaimed and fought for again in the American Revo- 


CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


I2I 


lution. Patrick Henry, the greatest orator of the Revolution, 
offered a set of resolutions in the Burgesses (May 29, 1765). 
Henry was a bold and radical advocate of liberty. His resolutions 
against the Stamp Act asserted that self-taxation was ‘Hhe dis- 
tinguishing characteristic of British freedom, that the Assembly 
of Virginia alone had the right to tax Virginians, and that any 
attempt to vest this power in any other body tended to destroy 
British as well as American freedom.” One of the old tradi- 
tions of the Revolution relates that Henry in defending these 
resolutions, at the climax of an eloquent passage exclaimed, 

Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I his Cromwell, and George 
HI — ” Treason ! Treason ! ” shouted several members) ‘‘ may 
profit by their example. If that be treason, make the most 
of it.” Such was the fiery spirit of Patrick Henry. 

155. The Stamp Act Congress, 1765. — The colonies now began 
to unite. Their leading men began to correspond with one 
another. Massachusetts took the lead in calling a congress of 
the colonies. This was done by a circular letter sent out to the 
colonial assemblies. South Carolina was first to respond. Nine 
states — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, South Caro- 
lina — sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress,” or meeting, 
in New York (October, 1765), to consult together about their 
circumstances, to represent dutifully their condition to the home 
government, and to implore relief from the tax measures of Par- 
liament. Here were the seeds of union, the first example of 
final combination among the colonies. 

This congress could not pass a law nor act like a government 

in any way. It merely spoke for the colonies, recommended 

them to have agents in London, petitioned the king xhe colonies 

and the Commons, and published a “Declaration of unite and 

announce 

Rights and Grievances.” This was a very able state their princi- 
paper. It was written by John Dickinson, and it sums 
up well the rights of the colonies. It said the colonists owed 
allegiance to Great Britain, but they had the same rights as Eng- 
lishmen at home ; that no taxes ever had been, or could be, right- 


122 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


fully imposed upon them except by their own legislatures in which 
they were represented ; that they could not be represented in 
Parliament; that supplies to the king were gifts of the people, 
and that it was unconstitutional for the people of Great Britain 
to grant to the king the property of the colonists ; that trial by 
jury was an old and precious right ; that there was a difference 
between legislation and taxation ; that while Parliament might 
make new laws or pass acts to regulate the trade of the whole 
empire, taxes were always to be consented to by the representa- 
tives of the people who paid them. 

156. Able English Statesmen sided with the Colonists. — These 
principles were accepted in Great Britain as firmly as in Amer- 
ica. The English people did not mean to oppress the Ameri- 
cans or deprive them of their rights. We ought not to think of 
this quarrel over taxes and the rights of the colonies as being 
between the English people on one side and the Americans 
on the other. It was rather between two parties, the Tories in 
England and America, on one side, and the W/iigs in both coun- 
tries, on the other. Pitt and Burke and Fox and Barre and 
Camden, the ablest statesmen of England, were on the American 
side. Pitt (Lord Chatham) said he rejoiced that America had 
resisted, and he spoke boldly for the same principle of taxation 
as that advocated in America by Hancock, Adams, Henry, and 
Otis. He said Parliament had no right to tax America. It had 
a right, he said, to legislate for the Americans and ‘Ho bind 
them in all cases whatsoever, except to take their money out 
of their pockets without their consent.” Burke did not think so 
much of the right of taxation, but he pleaded for the old pi^ac- 
tice (of requisitions), which, he said, had worked well. He 
thought it was umvise to tax the Americans, as it would cause 
disturbances and ill feeling. 

157. Stamp Act repealed, 1766. — In spite of the arguments 
of the government and the wish of the king, Grenville had to 
give way. Rockingham became minister, and the Stamp Act 
was repealed the year after it was passed (1766). It was seen 
that it could not be enforced without great expense and perhaps 


CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


123 


bloodshed. The British merchants found their goods were not 
selling so well in America, and they urged Parliament to repeal 
the act. With the repeal Parliament passed a Declaratory Acty 
without opposition, asserting the 7 nght to tax America. 

The repeal caused universal rejoicing throughout the British 
dominions. The Americans * celebrated with bonfires and 
speeches. They wanted to be loyal Englishmen. John Adams 
said they were as quiet and submissive to government as any 
people under the sun, and as little inclined to tumult and sedi- 
tion.” They took no notice of the Declaratory Act, for they 
cared very little about what resolutions, or platforms, were 
adopted so long as they were not put into force. 

158. American Tories became Unpopular. — Unfortunately it 
was now proposed by the British government to strengthen the 
royal authority in America ; to sustain the royal governors and 
judges by the army and make them more independent of popu- 
lar favor, and to revise the democratic constitutions of some of 
the colonies. The Whigs believed, as Governor Hutchinson’s 
letters which P'ranklin sent to America showed, that these pro- 
posals came to Parliament from the Tories in America, and this 
made the Tories very unpopular. The American Tories led 
the English rulers to believe that the orderly classes in America 
were in favor of more authority and taxes, and if Parliament 
would only show a firm hand, the disorderly element would have 
to submit. In 1767 Parliament resumed the taxing policy and 
“from this time,” says an English historian, “the English 
government of America is little more than a series of deplorable 
blunders.” 

159. Townshend Acts passed, 1767 . — In this year the Town- 
shend Acts were passed : one suspended the New York Legisla- 
ture till it would provide barracks for the royal troops (§ 152); 
another provided for further enforcing the trade laws ; a 
third . laid taxes on glass, lead, painters’ colors, paper, and tea. 
Townshend said he would observe the American distinction 
between internal and external taxation ; so he provided that his 
taxes were to be collected at the ports, like an external tax. But 


124 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



ures were 
resisted. 


the Americans were not to be caught by a smart trick like that. 
They saw that while the fo 7 ^m of the tax was different from that 
of the stamp tax, the purpose the same, — it was to raise 
revenue, not to regulate trade, and they would not submit to it. 

The colonists got up non-importation agreements, promising 
not to buy English manufactures, especially those on which 

duties were laid. Sam- 

The Town- i a i i 

shendmeas- ^i^l Adams, the “ bather 

of the Revolution ’’ in 
Massachusetts, who 
knew how to organize the people 
and stir them up to resistance, got 
the Massachusetts Assembly, of 
which he was the leading member, 
to adopt a notable Circular Letter 
to the other assemblies. This let- 
ter, which Adams wrote (Febru- 

Samuei ^ry II, 1768), protested 

Adams stirs against the Townshend 
the colonists . 

to protest Acts, and again set forth 

again. boldly the American ar- 
guments and principles on taxation. 
Samuel Adams. It asked the other assemblies to 


“The Father of the American Revo- 
lution ” was born in Boston in 1722, 
and was graduated from Harvard in 
1 742. The chief work of his life was his 
resistance to the tyranny of the king 
of England, and he did more than 
any other man to bring on the Amer- 
ican Revolution. He died in 1803. 


protest and try to get the acts re- 
pealed. Adams said that the 
Townshend Acts were 7 tnconstitu- 
tional and that to make the royal 
governors and judges independent 
of the people would endanger their 
liberties. He did not want the people to pay a tax for a stand- 
ing army forced on them in time of peace nor to support officers 
who were unfriendly to the people and whom the people could 
Great not Control. This letter gave offense to the king and 
Britain and ministers, and the Massachusetts legislature was 

drift apart, dissolved for refusing to recall it, and the assemblies 
of Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia were dissolved for 


CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


125 


expressing approval of it. That of Virginia was dissolved for 
expressing disapproval of Parliament’s treatment of New York. 
So the breach was widening. 

160. British and Colonists come to Blows. — The Americans 
also resisted the British policy by outbreaks of riots and mob 
violence, — a resistance which was not always to their credit 
and which did their cause more harm than good, as lawless vio- 
lence always does. The revenue officers were disliked. They 
were too arrogant and strict. When some of them seized a ship 
of John Hancock’s, a mob chased them back to the British frig- 
ate. The Gasph^ a revenue cutter, which was too active in 
suppressing smuggling, ran on a sand bar, where it stuck fast. 
It was then boarded and burned to the water’s edge by a band 
of Rhode Islanders, and no one would testify and help punish 
the offenders (1772). In North Carolina the “ Regulators,” who 
felt oppressed by heavy taxes and who had sought in vain for 
peaceable relief, met a body of Governor Tryon’s militia in a 
pitched battle and were defeated in the battle of Alamance, 
May 16, 1771. 

On the other hand, the conduct of the British government 
was worse than the violence of the Americans. In the win- 
ter of 1768-1769, as a means of enforcing the Townshend 
measures. Parliament revived an old law of Henry VI IPs time, 
authorizing the king to bring to England for trial any one 
accused of treason in the colonies, and in 1772 it was ordered 
that those who had burned the Gaspee should be sent over if 
they could be caught. To carry out such a policy (it may have 
been only a threat) might result in injustice and tyranny, for it 
violated the old right of every Englishman to be tried by a jury 
in the neighborhood where he was charged with crime. Burke 
denounced this law, and said that under it “ a person may be 
executed according to form, but he can never be tried according 
to justice.” 

When the British soldiers came, they found a hostile people. 
Their presence stirred up bad blood. In New York they cut 
down a liberty pole which the people had erected, and this caused 


126 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



British 
soldiers fire 
on Boston 
citizens. 


a riot. In Boston (March 5, 1770) a crowd of men and boys 
hooted at a corporal’s guard of soldiers in the streets, 
calling them 'Mobsters,” “rascals,” and “bloody 
backs,” and with sticks and stones and threats they 
provoked the soldiers into firing on the crowd. Five 
citizens were killed outright, and six were wounded. All Boston 
was excited to fierce anger and resentment against the British. 

A great mass meeting expressed 
the indignation of the people and 
demanded the withdrawal of the 
troops. Governor Hutchinson felt 
compelled to comply, and the sol- 
diers were removed to an island 
in Boston Bay. This event, called 
the “ Boston Massacre,” was alto- 
gether unnecessary and was al- 
most accidental, but it was called 
to mind from year to year by 
memorial meetings and speeches, 
and was thus used as a means of 
arousing hatred against the Brit- 
ish. It did as much as any other 
event to cause separation and 
war. 

161 . The Tea Tax and Boston 
“Tea Party.” — In 1770 the 
Townshend tax measures were all 
repealed except the tea tax. This 
was retained for the sake of the 
principle, to show that Parliament 
would not give up the right to tax 
the Americans. It was a most 
foolish policy, one that no real 
statesman would ever be guilty 
of. The tea tax was useless for 
revenue, and the only purpose it 


The Old South Meeting House, 
Boston. 

The scene of many patriotic meetings 
during colonial and Revolutionary 
days. An indignation meeting was 
held here the day after the Boston 
Massacre (1770). The first church 
built upon this site was a wooden 
one constructed in 1669. The pres- 
ent brick church was built in 1729, 
and since 1879 has been used as an 
historical museum and lecture room. 


CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


27 


served was to keep up the agitation in America. Burke pleaded 
in vain for its repeal and for full restoration of the old way 
of letting the colonies tax and govern themselves. The min- 
istry arranged for the Americans to get their tea ^ 
cheaper than before, even after the tax was paid, dumped into 

But the Americans felt that the whole issue on taxa- Boston 

harbor. 

tion was involved in this tax on tea. To give up this 

would be to give up all, — the principle of self-taxation and the 



Old Massachusetts Statehouse, Boston. 

The “Old Statehouse,” built for British officers in 1712, is the oldest 
public building now standing in Boston. From the balcony over the 
steps the English governors used to read the royal proclamations. 

When Washington visited Boston in 1789 a large reception was given 
to him in this building. It is no longer used for official purposes. 

rights of popular assemblies. So when the tea came, it was sent 
back or destroyed or stored away to mold. In Boston, when the 
governor refused to send back the tea, a party of citizens dis- 
guised as Indians boarded a vessel and threw the tea into the 



128 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


sea. Americans generally felt that they did right in resisting 
this unlawful tax. Shame on the American,” said Wendell 
Phillips many years later, who calls the tea tax a lazv^ 



Faneuil Hall, Boston. 

Faneuil Hall, or the “ Cradle of Liberty,” as it came to be called because 
so many important liberty meetings were held within its walls, was 
built about 1740, as a market house for Boston, at the expense of 
Peter Faneuil, a P'rench merchant of that city. It was enlarged in 
1806. 


All these disturbances and disorders excited the anger of the 
king and his ministers. They felt that the Americans were 
rebels and rioters and must be made to obey the law. 

The king _ . . . . . , 

looked upon The Tones m America were urging the government 

the colonists |-q exercise a firmer authority and to send more troops. 

as rebels. ti >> 1 • 

More government, too much liberty, was their cry. 
The true policy would have been to do as Pitt and Burke advised, 
— to repeal the tea tax and seek peace and conciliation with 
America. But instead of this Parliament turned to the fatal 
policy of coercion. 




CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


129 


162. Summary of American Grievances to 1774 . — Before we 
notice the coercive measures which Parliament adopted let us 
summarize American grievances up to 1774 : — 

1. A Parliament in which Americans were wholly unrepre- 
sented claimed and had exercised the power — 

(a) to restrict their commerce. 

(^) to tax them. 

(c) to suspend their assemblies. 

2. British troops were planted among them to coerce them. 

3. Their governors and judges were to be made independent 
of their assemblies. 

4. The protection of the right of trial by jury had been taken 
away in certain cases. 

5. Their citizens were threatened with transportation for 
trial. 

163. The Intolerable Acts. — Instead of retracing its steps and 
relieving the fears of the Americans on these matters, Parliament 
proceeded to pass three intolerable coercive measures: — 

1. The Boston Port Bill. — This closed the port of Boston, 
allowing no ships to come or go, till the tea that had been de- 
stroyed had been paid for. Only food and fuel could be 
brought in. The customhouse was removed to Salem and an 
English man-of-war was to blockade the port. So Boston was 
to be punished by having her trade and prosperity destroyed. 
“The property of unoffending thousands is arbitrarily taken 
away for^the act of a few individuals.” 

2. The Massachusetts Act. — This revoked the Massachusetts 
charter of 1691, and a new form of government was given to 
that colony. The upper house (senate) was now to be appointed 
by the crown. The governor’s power was to be increased and 
he was no longer to depend on the people. The judges, magis- 
trates, and sheriffs were to be appointed by the royal governor, 
and the jurors were to be summoned by these sheriffs and be no 
longer elective. The right of public meeting was to be abridged, 
— the old town meetings, as “ nests of sedition and self-govern- 


130 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


ment,” were to be broken up. Men like Samuel Adams were 
not to be given a chance to arouse the people against the gov- 
ernment. If Americans submitted to this act, “ their chartered 
rights and liberties were annihilated.’’ 

3. The Act for the Administration of Justice . — This provided 
that if any person were indicted for murder in Massachusetts 
and it appeared to the governor or judge that his act was com- 
mitted in aiding magistrates to suppress tumults and riots and 
that a fair trial could not be had, the prisoner should be sent to 
England or to another colony for trial. Captain Preston had 
been given a fair trial and had been acquitted for the ‘‘ Boston 
Massacre,” but the British government was determined not to 
allow Massachusetts juries to try British soldiers for offenses 
committed in preserving order. The Americans felt that this was 
to encourage the soldiers to use force and to shield them from 
punishment for violence, and that the lives of citizens might be 
destroyed with impunity.” 

In addition to these three measures a new Qna 7 dering Act 
was passed, by which General Gage was made governor of 
Massachusetts, and more troops were to be quartered in Boston. 

The same year (1774) the Quebec Act was passed, extending 
Canada to the Ohio River under F'rench law, arbitrary rule, and 
the Catholic religion. This act was one of wise toleration. It 
had no reference to the Thirteen Colonies and it did not take 
away any legal privileges of Englishmen. But the colonies 
believed it was directed against them ; it was offensive especially 
to New England and the colonies claiming territory in the 
West, and it was an important influence in producing the 
American Revolution. 

164 . The Colonies unite ; Committees of Correspondence. — The 

coercive acts were directed against Massachusetts, but they 
threatened the rights of every other colony. In the face of a 
common danger all were ready to unite to support Massachu- 
setts. Provisions were sent to Boston from other colonies. 
Virginia appointed a day for prayer and fasting, and it was 
recognized that such an injury to one was the concern of all. 


CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


131 


The colonies were far apart, travel was difficult, but they had a 
means of acting together. In 1772 the Massachusetts towns 
under the leadership of Samuel Adams began to correspond with 
one another. In 1773 Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson 
secured from the Burgesses in Virginia a permanent Committee 
of Coimespondejice^ ‘‘ to maintain a correspondence with our 
sister colonies.” Other colonies followed this example. This 
was important as a means of cooperating in their resistance to 
the acts of Parliament, and was one of the early steps in forming 
the union. 

165 . The First Continental Congress, 1774. — Through these 
Committees of Correspondence several assemblies suggested a 
congress of the colonies. Massachusetts issued the call, and 
the congress met at Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. There 
were delegates from every colony except Georgia, where the 
governor interfered. This was one of the most important 
meetings thus far held in the colonies. It began a movement 
which later resulted in throwing off British authority and erect- 
ing a new government in America. 

The Congress published a famous ‘‘ Declaration of Rights ” 
in which it approved the course of Massachusetts, demanded the 
repeal of the coercive measures and the Quebec Act, Declaration 
denounced as illegal a standing army in time of peace Rights, 
without the consent of the colony, and complained of the disso- 
lution of their assemblies. The colonies now denied the right 
of Parliament to legislate for them, though they were willing 
to submit to honest trade regulations ; they sent addresses to 
the king, to the people of Great Britain and to Canada (asking 
Canada to join in resistance), and finally and most . 

^ ^ Agreement 

important, the Congress formed the American Asso- nottoim- 
ciation, for the non-importation and non-consumption 
of British goods. This agreement was to be enforced British 
in the colonies by their own town and county com- 
mittees, and any colony not cooperating was to be regarded as 
‘‘an enemy to the liberties of the country.” The Congress let 
it be understood that force against Massachusetts would be met 


132 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


by force from the united colonies. Before adjourning it called 
another Congress to meet in May, 1775. 

166. Lord North’s Proposals. — Lord North now proposed that 
if the colonies would tax themselves to the satisfaction of the 
British government, all tax measures of Parliament would be 
withdrawn. This offer was rejected by the colonies, and Parlia- 
ment now declared Massachusetts in a state of rebellion, and 
General Gage was ordered to subdue the insurrection. Instruc- 
tions were sent to arrest Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other 
popular leaders for trial. The members of the patriot party 
of Massachusetts were now obeying the Provincial Congress, 
organized and controlled by these leaders. They began to 
organize ‘‘ minutemen ” to assemble at a minute’s warning, and 
to gather military stores. 

167. Battle of Lexington. — General Gage sent some soldiers 
from Boston to destroy some of these stores at Concord. Paul 
Revere, on his famous ride, aroused the country along the road, 
shouting the warning, ‘‘ The regulars are coming ! ” The minute- 
men seized their rifles, and from village and farm came together 
at Lexington, April 19, 1775. When the British troops under 
Major Pitcairn reached Lexington, they found fewer than fifty 
men drawn up on the green. ‘‘ Don’t fire unless you are fired 
on,” said their captain, Parker, but if they want a war, let it 
begin here.” Disperse, ye rebels,” shouted Pitcairn. But the 
yeomanry stood their ground, and were fired upon by the 
soldiers. Eight patriots fell and eight more were wounded, and 
on that famous day at Lexington the war of the American 
Revolution began. 

The minutemen fell back, and the soldiers went on and 
destroyed the ammunition at Concord, but there at Concord 
bridge they had to meet by this time four hundred and fifty 
Americans, who resisted, ‘‘ And fired the shot heard round the 
world.” The British turned to flight, and on the retreat to Boston 
they found the country alive with riflemen who, from behind tree 
and house, haystack, fence, and wall, poured in a deadly fire ; and 
it is said that before the exhausted troops reached the shelter of 


CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 


133 


reenforcements, ‘Hheir tongues were hanging out like dogs’ 
after a chase.” The British had lost two hundred and seventy- 
three men ; the Americans, ninety-three. It had been shown 
that American militiamen dared resist British regulars. 

168. The Americans were compelled to fight for their Rights. 

- — This attack and resistance aroused the spirit of war in the 
whole country. It was felt that the king had made war on his 
people. The time to petition and to pass resolutions had gone ; 
the time to fight had come. Warren called New England to 
arms to prevent an inhuman soldiery from ravaging this 
devoted country with fire and sword.” Patrick Henry in the 
Second Continental Congress expressed the feeling of the 
patriot party of America. We have petitioned, we have 
remonstrated, we have supplicated, we have prostrated our- 
selves at the foot of the throne, and it has been ail in vain. 
We must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!” 

The war had begun in defense of American rights. We are 
now to study the influences leading to American independence. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1763. Close of the Seven Years’ War. — Treaty of Pans. 

1764. Parliament proposes to enforce the Trade Laws, to quarter Troops in 

America, and to tax the Colonies. 

1765. Stamp Act passed. — Stamp Act Congress. 

1766. Repeal of the Stamp Act. — Declaratory Act. 

1767. Townshend Measures, Commercial Taxation. 

1768. Troops quartered in Boston. — Massachusetts Circular Letter. 

1770. Boston Massacre. — Taxes removed except on Tea. 

1772. Burning of the Gaspee. 

1773. Boston Tea Party. 

1774. Three Intolerable Measures: (i) Boston Port Bill, (2) Massachusetts 

Act, (3) Transportation Act. 

Quebec Act. 

1774. Meeting of First Continental Congress. 

1775. Beginning of War at Lexington and Concord, April 19. 


CHAPTER X 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

169 . The Americans were defeated at Bunker Hill, June 17, 
1775. — The Second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia, 
May 10, 1775. On the' same day Ethan Allen and the Green 
Mountain Boys of Vermont seized the important fortress of 
Ticonderoga, ''in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Con- 
tinental Congress.” Congress voted to raise an army of 
twenty thousand men and appointed Washington to the chief 
command. After the fight at Concord and Lexington a New 
England army, consisting of troops of several colonies under no 
single commander, soon gathered around Boston. Under War- 
ren, Putnam, and Prescott the Americans took a position on 
Bunker Hill. Gage’s troops assaulted their works (June 17, 
1775). The Americans resisted two desperate assaults. At the 
third they fell back, defeated but far from discouraged. The 
British had lost one thousand men out of the three thousand 
engaged. The Americans lost about four hundred and fifty. 
Among them was General Joseph Warren, one of the bravest 
and most unselfish patriots of the Revolution. Bunker Hill was 
a moral victory for the Americans, for they showed again that 
they could stand against the regulars and could fight with cour- 
age. 

170 . Washington takes command, July 3, 1775. — Washington 
now took command of the American army at Cambridge, 
July 3, 1775. It is well to recall the great services of Washing- 
ton. He is properly called the "Father of his Country,” for no 
one did more to help win our independence and establish our 
government. He is the greatest man of the American Revolu- 
tion, one of the noblest men of the English-speaking race. It 

134 




Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 1776. 

Here the Continental Congress met, Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental 
armies, the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and the Constitution of the United States was framed. 




THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 


135 


was most fortunate for the Americans that they had such a 
noble leader at this time. He was patriotic, ready to serve his 
country without pay and at great sacrifice. He was patient in 
suffering, wise in judgment, self-controlled but quick and deci- 
sive in action. He believed in right and duty and had faith in 
God. As he is pictured at Valley Forge, praying for his 
country in the darkest hour of the Revolution, we think of him 
as bearing upon his shoulders the fortunes of his country. 
Probably no other leader could have borne the burden so well. 

Washington found an army disorganized, without discipline, 
or supplies or heavy guns, and he could not take the offensive 
about Boston till the spring of 1776. On March 17, ^he army 
1776, he seized Dorchester Heights, and the British was in bad 
were compelled to evacuate Boston. They and many 
of their Tory friends boarded the fleet and ‘^went to Halifax.” 

In the fall of 1775 an American expedition under Montgomery 
.and Benedict Arnold made an unsuccessful attack on Canada; 
while in June 1776 the British were repulsed from Fort 
Moultrie in Charleston harbor.^ 

171. Americans were Ready for Independence after a Year of 
Fighting. — A year of war had now made the Americans ready 
for independence. It was not for independence that they took 
up arms. Washington said, When I first took command of 
the army I abhorred the idea of independence ; ” he even then 
hoped for a lasting and happy union with Great Britain.” 
Jefferson said, “Before the 19th of April, 1775, I had never 
heard a whisper of a disposition to separate from the mother 
country.” Franklin told Pitt in England that the colonists did 

not desire independence and such was not their purpose in 

* 

resisting the measures of Parliament. In July, 1775, Congress 
published its Declaration of the Causes of Taking 7 ip Arms. 
This sums up the long list of grievances that we have de- 
scribed. It then charges that General Gage had begun hostili- 
ties at Lexington and Concord. 

^ Here it was that Sergeant Jasper, in the midst of the hottest fire from the British, 
climbed the parapet and restored the flagstaff that had been shot away. 


36 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 




Franklin’s Famous Letter to a Member of the English Parliament. 

The long friendship between Franklin and Strahan, 
interrupted by the war, was afterwards renewed. 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 


137 


Parliament claims unlimited power over us, to make laws to 

bind us in all ‘cases whatsoever. We have no voice in the body 

that proposes so to govern us. Fleets and armies are 

sent to force us into submission. We have but the state? the 

two alternatives, unconditional submission or resist- causes for 

the war. 

ance by force. We prefer to die freemen rather than to 
live slaves. But we have no intention to dissolve the union. Our 
armies are not for separation. We have taken up arms against 
violence actually offered ; we shall lay them down when hostili- 
ties cease on the part of our aggressors, not before. May our 
adversaries be reconciled on reasonable terms and the Empire 
relieved from the calamities of civil war.” 

These are the words of Congress, and they no doubt express 
the sentiment of the country in the summer of 1775. Some say 
Congress did not act in harmony with these words. It is, no 
doubt, true that there were radical men in Congress and in the 
country who secretly favored independence and who were 
watching every chance to influence public opinion in that direc- 
tion. But the evidence goes to show that perhaps not one fifth 
of the people of America had independence in view at the time 
the Americans took up arms. They were fighting in self- 
defense, to preserve old rights and an old constitution, not to 
set up new ones, and they constantly disavowed the purpose or 
the desire for independence. They still hoped for honorable 
reconciliation. They had pride in Britain’s dominion, Many did 
they gloried in her history, and they were most not wish to 

1 1 ^ rr r ^ r • Separate 

reluctant to cut themselves off forever from being from Great 

a part of the old mother country. But when the 

king arrogantly refused the last petition of Congress, — their 

olive branch of peace,” — when Parliament and the king 
declared the colonies in a state of rebellion and said that all the 
resources of the Empire would be used to subdue them, and 
when some of their towns were burned by the king’s forces, as 
Norfolk, Charlestown, and Falmouth, the sentiment of the 
colonists began to change. They saw in the future other towns 
in ashes, the redcoats overrunning the land, and the British 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


138 

navy blockading their ports. Still some favored submission, 
while others, who very much disliked the acts of the government, 
thought it useless to resist. 

At this opportune time, in the early part of 1776, when the 
people were very bitter against the king and the British govern- 
ment, but wavering as to what course to take, appeared Thomas 
Paine’s powerful pamphlet, ^‘Common Sense.” Paine was the 
Thomas ^^st to argue openly and boldly for independence. In 
Paineargues ‘‘Common Sense ” he sought first to get the minds of 

enVe^i^^cow^ the people away from their foolish worship of kings. 
mon Sense. “ Qne hoiiest man is worth more to society in the 
sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived,” he 
said; and when the king referred ‘Mhe matter from argument 
to arms, all considerations prior to the battle of Lexington were 
like last year’s almanacs,” — they were out of date. He showed 
that the connection with Great Britain was no longer to the 
advantage of America, that it would continually involve us in 
European wars and quarrels, and interfere with our markets ; 
and he said it was absurd that a great continent should continue 
to be dependent on the people of a little island three thousand 
miles away. This was like making a satellite larger than its 
planet. Other writers and essayists throughout the colonies 
supported Paine, and the country was being roused against any 
more British rule. 

There was one thing that had more influence even than Paine’s 
writings in promoting the spirit of independence. This was the 
The coming Coming of the Hessians. These were “ foreign merce- 
oftheHes- naries ” that the king had hired in Hesse-Cassel, a 

sians in- . ^ n ^ i a • 

censed the little State in Germany, to fight against the Americans. 
Americans, May, 1 776, it became known to the Americans that 
ten thousand of these Hessians were already on the sea coming 
to help subdue them. As many as thirty thousand came al- 
together. They had no principle at stake, no love of country to 
fight for, but they were coming merely for pay, hired by the 
British to fight against British flesh and blood in America. This 
was the crowning political blunder of the British government. 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 


139 


It aroused resentment and bitterness in America, and after such 
a wrong it was useless to hope for reconciliation with the 
colonies. 

Virginia now led in the movement for independence. In May, 
1776, that colony instructed her delegates in Congress to propose 
this final step. Accordingly on June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, 
who was the chairman of the Virginia delegation, pro- Lee’s 
posed his famous resolution : “ That these United Colo- resolution. 
nies are^ and of a right ought to be, free and independent states T 

172 . The Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776). — Some 

of the colonies were not yet ready, and the resolution Dickinson, 

was opposed by Dickinson and Wilson of Pennsylvania 

and by Rutledge of South Carolina ; but a committee pose the 

was appointed consisting of Thomas Jefferson, Ben- for^/^de-^ 

jamin P^ranklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and pendence. 

Robert R. Livingston to draft a declaration in harmony with this 

resolution. Jefferson wrote the Declaration, “without reference 

to book or paper.” Adams and Franklin made a few Jefferson 

verbal changes. On July i it was debated. Jeffer- writes the 
•1^1 ^ 11 T 1 A 1 Declaration 

son sat silent; he was not a debater. “John Adams of independ- 

was our Colossus on the floor,” said Jefferson after- 


OT .AMLRICA, 

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jay%, p<.*yYCfi^ tc 


■vhcSBzt oCCt<.ATr\ 


U/ix^icM- Kjxxxrj ‘tXaiXcx/y^ c* gj 'Y\c>A~u/y^ 'J 'OvCCd^Pc, i7\syrr\, ^ cx_ dUiXjUt^ ir^^JpxjcS^ 

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c^r\\^p-t^ i'fu/rre~bo •'u^»X .«» 


The Opening Lines of the Declaration of Independence. 

This is one of the most important documents ever published in the history of the 
world. This illustration shows in reduced form the handwriting of the author of the 
Declaration, Thomas Jefferson, and some of the changes made in the original draft. 


ward, “ not graceful nor elegant nor fluent, but he came out 


140 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


with a power of thought and expression that moved us from our 
seats.” Dickinson led the opposition. He admitted the justice 
of the Declaration, but doubted its policy at that time. He did 
not want ‘‘ to shut the door of accommodation with Great 
Britain.” He did not think the Declaration would be a means 
of obtaining foreign help ; it might unite parties in England 
against us, and we ought not to take such a step, he said, until 
we had made a compact with France, and a confederation 
among ourselves. Independence was a step of stupendous 
importance ; it was crossing a river that could never be recrossed, 
and Dickinson pleaded for delay. Dickinson had done as much 
as any man in defending the rights of America in the ten years’ 
debate that had gone before. He was not a Tory, and when he 
was voted down on this occasion and the colonies voted for 

independence, he patriotically 
enered the army of the Revolu- 
tion and fought on the side cf 
his country. 

Finally, on July 2, all the colo- 
nies except New York, which 
assented later, voted 

Lee’s 

resolution for Fee’s motion. 

passed Some of them did so 

July 2, 1776. /C 

reluctantly (South 

Carolina and Pennsylvania), de- 
siring to make the vote unani- 
mous. For two days more Con- 
gress considered the form of 
J efferson’s Declaration. It struck 
out Jefferson’s unsparing con- 
demnation of the king for keep- 
ing open the slave trade, a 
“piratical warfare,” “a market 
where men should be bought 
and sold.” This was omitted, as 
Jefferson afterward testified, out 



John Hancock. 

Born at Quincy, Mass., 1737, graduated 
from Harvard, became a member of the 
“ Sons of Liberty,” and, with Samuel 
Adams, was declared an outlaw by the 
British. As President of Congress he 
was the first signer of the Declaration of 
Independence. Was a soldier in the 
Revolution, and later Governor of Massa- 
chusetts. Died at his birthplace in 1 793. 




Signing the Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776. 

The Declaration was signed by fiftv-five delegates, headed by John Hancock, the Pres- 
ident of the (.'ontinental Congress. The ineml)ers signed on August 2, 1776. d'he lirst 
copy of the Declaration giving the names of the signers was published in January, 1777. 











i • 




^49 


s ^ 


St- » 


■ f* 



t 


. « 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 141 

of regard to South Carolina and Georgia and also because the 
New Englanders, though not having many slaves themselves, 
were considerable carriers of them to others and were therefore 
a little sensitive on that point. Finally, on the 4th of July, 1776, 
the Declaration received the final sanction of Congress. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 

173. Principles more Important than Battles. — We cannot go 
into the details of the battles of the Revolution. It is more 
important to know the principles underlying a war, — to know 
how and why a nation gets into a war and how it gets out, — 
than to trace the history of marches, sieges, battles, and cam- 
paigns. The glory of war is in its courage, patriotism, self- 
sacrifice, and devotion. These qualities were brought out in 
America by the seven years’ struggle for independence, in which 
two million five hundred thousand people, armed in the holy 
cause of liberty,” won their independence against a nation many 
times more powerful in resources and in men. 


The War in the Middle States, 1776 

174. The British seek Control of the Hudson. — The first ob- 
ject of the British in the war was to take New York, Phila- 
delphia, and the Hudson, and thus cut the colonies in two by 
separating New England from the South. They would then 
conquer each section separately. New York, New Jersey, and 
Pennsylvania were not so hostile to British rule as was New 
England. There were more Tories in the Middle Colonies, and 
there was considerable Tory sentiment south of Virginia. The 
British thought if New England and Virginia could be cut off 
and suppressed, the war would soon be over. So the Middle 
Colonies became the scene of the war for the first two years 
after independence was declared. 

Washington tried to defend New York. He had moved his 
troops to that place from Boston in April, and he now fortified 

142 


THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


143 


Brooklyn Heights. The Americans also built Fort Lee and 
Fort Washington a little way up the Hudson from New York to 
keep the British fleet from going up that river. The 
British army was commanded by General William' defeats 
Howe, and the fleet by his brother, Lord Howe. The Washington 

British army soon numbered about thirty thousand island and 
men, nearly double that of the Americans. Washing- captures 
ton was attacked by Howe in the battle of Long Island 
(August 27, 1776) and was defeated. The American army was 
barely saved from capture by the skill and strategy of Washing- 
ton, who, leaving his camp fires burning, had his forces ferried 
across the East River to New York, leaving the British only his 
empty camp. 

175. Washington’s Memorable Retreat to Trenton. — Howe 
followed Washington up the east side of the Hudson and de- 
feated the Americans again at White Plains, and then captured 
Fort Washington. The American army crossed to the west 
side of the Hudson a little below Peekskill; and General Charles 
Lee was left with seven thousand men on the east side of the 
river. Lee was ordered to join his forces to Washington’s, but 
in jealousy and mutiny he refused to obey, and Washington 
began his long and memorable retreat through New Jersey to 
Trenton. As the British followed, Washington crossed to the 
west side of the Delaware. The British hoped to catch Wash- 
ington’s army and end the war in this one campaign. If Howe 
with his overwhelming force had ordered Cornwallis vigorously 
to pursue Washington, instead of ordering the troops to stop at 
New Brunswick, if he had quickly struck at Philadelphia, he could 
no doubt have captured the city and he would probably have 
completely broken the American resistance. But Howe made 
the mistake of seeking his comfort in winter quarters in New 
York to rejoice over his victories. This illustrates one of the 
causes of American success in the Revolution, — the incompe- 
tency of the British commanders and the greater ability of 
Washington and the greater sacrifice his soldiers were ready to 
undergo. 


\ 



144 


THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


145 


176. Dark Hour in the Revolution. — With Washington’s 
army in retreat, after repeated defeats, it was a dark hour for 
America, perhaps the darkest of the war. The defeated 
army was ragged, poorly armed, without pay or rations; 
many terms of enlistment were about to expire, and the 
number of troops was rapidly decreasing. The people were 
disheartened. British and Hessian soldiers were plundering 
Tories and patriots alike in New Jersey. Many were deserting 
the American cause and were ready to take advantage of 
Howe’s offer of pardon and to seek British protection. Phila- 
delphia was in a panic of fear, and Congress, committing ab- 
solute authority to Washington, abandoned that city and fled 
to Baltimore. It was during these dark days of retreat, defeat, 
and despair that Thomas Paine’s first number of The 

Cl ISIS appeared. Paine stirs 

‘‘These are the times that try men’s souls. The the people in 

. , ... The Crisis. 

summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this 
crisis shrink from the service of his country ; but he that stands 
it N'ow deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. 
Tyranny is not easily conquered ; yet the harder the conflict, the 
more glorious the triumph. . . . Britain with an army to en- 
force her tyranny has declared that she has a right to enforce 
her will upon America, not only to Tax, but to Bind iis in 
All Cases Whatsoever, and if being bound in that manner is 
not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon 
earth.” 

In such stirring words Paine continued from time to time to 
arouse the people to fight on against the British. In the cause 
of American liberty Paine’s powerful pen was as mighty as 
Washington’s sword. 

177. Washington revives America by the Victories of Trenton 
and Princeton. — It was at this dark hour, too, that Washing- 
ton’s greatness appeared. He had not lost heart, and he 
determined upon a bold stroke. On Christmas night, 1776, 
while the Hessians stationed at Trenton were in a Christmas 
carousal, Washington crossed the Delaware, amid snow and ice. 


146 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


surprised the enemy, captured one thousand Hessians and one 
thousand stands of arms, with the loss of only two officers and 
two privates. It was a great victory. Washington made a quick 
retreat before Cornwallis could come up, but he soon recrossed 
the river and won another complete victory over the British in 
the battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777). Cornwallis was 
completely outgeneraled, supposing that Washington was in 
his front until he heard the guns in his rear on the morning of 
the battle. 

1777 

178. Robert Morris raises Money for the Army. — After the 
battle of Princeton Washington went into winter quarters at 
Morristown, and reenforcements came to his army. The coun- 
try rejoiced over his victories, with renewed hope and courage 
for the conflict. In this period Robert Morris, “ the financier 
of the Revolution,” rendered great services to his country by 
raising money and by giving from his own fortune. By these 
means Washington’s soldiers were clothed and fed. 

179. Howe takes Philadelphia. — Howe determined to cap- 
ture Philadelphia. Leaving a garrison in New York, he put 
about eighteen thousand men on board -his fleet and sailed, no 
one knew where. The Americans obstructed the Delaware 
River, and Howe, after delays and difficulties at sea, finally 
landed his troops at the head of Chesapeake Bay, at Elkton, 
August 25,1 777. Washington, who was waiting until he learned 
of Howe’s landing place, marched to Wilmington, Delaware, to 
meet him. As Howe advanced, Washington fell back to Chadd’s 
Ford, on Brandywine Creek, where a battle was fought Septem- 
ber II, 1777. The Americans were defeated, losing twelve 
hundred men, but Washington retired in good order to Phila- 
delphia. He was not able to defend the city, and 

Battles of ^ . . / . 

Brandywine Howe entered it in triumph. Washington, planning 
^ surprise, attacked the British again at German- 
town (October 4, 1777), but fog and confusion among 
his men, which led one division to fire upon another, prevented 


THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


147 


his success. Washington now went into winter quarters at 
Valley Forge. 

180. Burgoyne comes down from Canada. — The capture of 
Philadelphia did not help the British much. Howe should have 
gone north, along the Hudson, to cooperate in Burgoyne’s inva- 
sion. His failure to do so brought to the British one of the 
most decisive losses of the war. The British wished to gain 
control of the Hudson. Their plan now was for General Bur- 
goyne to come down from Canada, while Howe was to meet 
him by going north from New York. Another expedition under 
St. Leger was to go by Lake Ontario to Oswego, take Fort 
Stanwix, and come down the Mohawk. Howe failed to do his 
part, either from lack of orders, or lack of sense, or both. When 
he withdrew the main body of his army in order to take Phila- 
delphia, all the American forces in the north could go against 
Burgoyne. 

Burgoyne started south in June. On July 5, 1777, Ticon- 
deroga, with provisions, stores, and cannon, was taken without 
a blow in its defense, and John Adams said that some American 
commander would have to be shot before their forces would 
learn to defend a fortress. But the farther Burgoyne got into 
the enemy's country, the greater his difficulties became. Schuy- 
ler, the American commander, with hardly more than four 
thousand men, put all kinds of difficulties in his way, destroying 
bridges, felling trees, burning what could be used 
for supplies, and harassing his flanks. Burgoyne haras^e^s 

could hardly make a mile a day. His provisions and delays 

Burgoyne. 

gave out and he had to forage. He sent a detach- 
ment under Colonel Baum with eight hundred men to capture 
some military supplies at Bennington, Vermont. They were 
met (August 16) by Colonel John Stark and General Warner, 
with nine hundred American militiamen, and were cut to 
pieces, Baum losing almost his whole force. Meanwhile St. 
Leger’s expedition coming from the west down the Mohawk 
failed to unite with Burgoyne. Fort Stanwix (or Fort Schuyler, 
near Rome, New York) held out against him. General Herki- 


148 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


mer attacked his forces in an attempt to relieve the fort, and a 
bloody hand-to-hand battle followed at Oriskany (August 6, 
1777). Herkimer was killed, and the battle was not decisive, 
but when reenforcements under Arnold came to the Americans 
in the fort, St. Leger was driven back to Canada. 

General Schuyler, the American commander, who had done 
well, was replaced by General Horatio Gates, a man of no merit. 
Encouraged by Stark’s victory and St. Leger’s repulse, the 
American militia rallied to reenforce the army. They were 
stirred to energy also by their fear of Indian atrocities under 
incitement of the British, and their army was soon increased to 
thirteen thousand men. 

181 . Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga, 1777. — Burgoyne 
was now doomed. St. Leger was beaten; there was no hope 
from the South, where Washington was keeping Howe engaged 
all summer. Burgoyne’s forces were being cut off from Canada, 
and his hope of retreat would soon be gone. Attempting to 
cut his way out and save his army, he attacked the American 
forces at Bemis Heights, but was held in check by the skill and 
valor of the troops under Arnold and Morgan. Burgoyne then 
retreated to Saratoga, where he was again defeated and then 
completely surrounded. Nothing remained for him but to lay 
down his arms and surrender his entire army of more than six 
thousand men. 

This was the most important military event of the war. It 
was the turning point in the struggle. Its immediate 

Saratoga in* i a • 

was the de- result was the alliance between France and America, 

o^thewar^^ bringing such aid in men and money as finally 
brought about American success. 

182 . The Assistance of the French was Important. — It is not 
easy to see how America could have won her independence 
without F'rench aid. In 1775 Congress had appointed a secret 
committee ‘‘to correspond with our friends abroad.” In 1776 
Silas Deane was sent to France to solicit aid. He was later 
joined by Doctor Franklin and Arthur Lee. It was Franklin’s 
great influence and diplomacy and his wonderful popularity in 


THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


149 


Paris that brought about French good will. At first the French 
king would give no open aid to the Americans, but he secretly 
furnished supplies through Beaumarchais, who claimed to be a 
merchant selling arms to America on credit. The French 
wanted to make sure that the Americans would not be recon- 


ciled to Great Britain. France was pleased when independence 
was declared, but still she held off to see if America could make 


the Declaration good by military 
success. Burgoyne’s surrender 
convinced the French, and in its 
tidings they heard the knell 
of English dominion in Amer- 
ica.” France now came out 
openly on the American side. 

On February 6 and 7, 1778, 
France made two trea- ... 

The alliance 

ties with America, with France 
One was a treaty of ^778. 
commerce, which gave great 
commercial advantages to Amer- 
ica ; the other was a treaty of 
alliance, the first and only treaty 
of the kind our country has ever 
made. By this treaty France 
acknowledged the independence 
of America. The French king 
knew that the treaty of alliance 
would lead to a war between 
France and Great Britain, but 
he promised to continue the war 
until American independence was 



The Marquis de Lafayette. 

Born in Auvergne, France, 1757 ; died 
at Paris, 1834. Became a major-gen- 
eral in the American army in 1777. 
Fought his first battle at Brandywine, 
and there was wounded in the leg. 
Spent his own money freely for cloth- 
ing and equipping the soldiers under 
his command. After the Revolution 
he visited the country twice ; in 1784, 
on Washington’s invitation, and 
in 1824, when he laid the corner- 
stone of Bunker Hill Monument. 


secured. This he did, and the 


aid of F'rance was most valuable. During 1777 Lafayette and 
other Frenchmen came to America to aid Washington ; and 
Steuben, De Kalb, Pulaski, and other foreigners greatly aided 


the American cause. 


The French alliance led to other difficulties in Europe for 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


150 

England. In 1777 Congress sent Jay to Spain (as Franklin 
had gone to France) to induce that country to recognize our 
independence, to lend us money, and to come into 

opsin WSS in* • r • 11 i i 

not so the alliance. Spam was not friendly ; she wanted to 

friendly as control the Mississippi River, and did not want the 
France. , . 11 

colonies to grow strong and expand toward the west, 

as she thought that would endanger her American possessions. 
Jay got a little money from Spain, but that country would not 
recognize our independence nor join the French-American alli- 
ance. However, Spain made war on England on her own account, 
chiefly for the sake of recovering Gibraltar, which Great Britain 
had held since the treaty of Utrecht, 1713. Soon after, Holland 
Great Russia became hostile to Great Britain, and that 

Britain has country found hcrsclf without a friend or ally in the 

no nlll0S ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

world. This situation in Europe came largely from 
the French alliance, and was very important, almost decisive, in 
compelling Great Britain to recognize American independence. 

183. The Soldiers suffered Hardships at Valley Forge. — We 
left Washington in winter quarters at Valley Forge. His army 
had a terrible winter. Some of the soldiers mutinied, and Wash- 
ington informed Congress that nearly three thousand of his men 
were unfit for duty, as they were barefooted' and naked. Their 
line of march to winter quarters had been marked by their 
blood oozing from frost-bitten feet upon the snow. The com- 
missary department was at fault, for there were shoes, stock- 
ings, and clothes lying unused at various places. During this 
winter some officers had formed a combination, called the 
‘‘ Conway Cabal,” to displace Washington from the command 
and put Gates in his place. The plot fell through and Washing- 
ton stood higher than ever with the country. At Valley 
Forge the American army received one great benefit; that was 
good drill and discipline by Baron Steuben, a Prussian officer 
who had joined the Americans. This discipline counted for 
much in their subsequent fighting. 


THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


151 


1778-1779 

184. Howe evacuates Philadelphia. — In the spring of 1778 
Howe was succeeded by Clinton. On the approach of the 
French fleet Clinton abandoned Philadelphia for 

New York. Washington pursued Clinton’s forces ofMon- 

across New Jersey and attacked them at Monmouth 

(June, 1778) without any decisive results. The Brit- 

ish then, in the summer of 1778, occupied New York and 

Newport, and Washington was in his old position about White 

Plains. 

After three years of war the British had not subdued either 
New England or the Middle Colonies, and were no better off 
than when the war began. They had gained nothing to offset 
their losses, and many of the leading men in England 
saw that America could not be subdued. Lord North subordinates 
satv this, and if he had acted the part of a constitutional contrary 
minister, he would have resigned and left the king theConsti- 
without a minister, as long as the king was bent on a 
war policy. But the king controlled the minister instead of the 
minister controlling the king, and North remained in office 
and continued the war against his better judgment. 

The French fleet under D’Estaing could not take New York, 
and it failed also in connection with General Sullivan’s land 
forces to capture Newport. D’Estaing then sailed for the West 
Indies, and his presence there required the attention of a British 
force. England’s troubles were increasing. On July 15, 1779, 

Mad Anthony” Wayne, leading a body of twelve hundred 
Americans, stormed Stony Point, captured five hundred prisoners, 
and recaptured that strong fortress in one of the most daring 
exploits of the war. Light Horse Harry ” Lee also recaptured 
Paulus Hook, on the New Jersey coast. 

185. Tories and Indians ravage in Pennsylvania and New 
York. — In the summer of 1778 Tories and Indians under Colo- 
nel Butler and Joseph Brant plundered and killed many 
settlers in Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, and in Cherry Valley, 


152 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


New York. An expedition under General Sullivan retaliated 
on the Iroquois Indians and effectually broke their power. 


1779 AND 1780 


186 . John Paul Jones, 1779. — During 1779 1780 the 

more important and interesting events of the war were in the 
South. But before turning in that direction let us notice 



John Paul Jones^ 

“ The founder of the American 
Navy” was born in Scotland in 1747 
and died in Paris in 1799. His re- 
mains, or a body supposed to be his, 
were brought from France in 1905 
and buried with honor at Annapolis, 
Maryland, in the country of his adop- 
tion. He was commander of a vessel 
in the West Indian trade at seven- 
teen, and came to Virginia when 
twenty-six. After an illustrious career 
in the American Revolution he en- 
tered the Russian military service and 
won renown. Upon his death the 
National Assembly of France or- 
dered a public funeral in his honor. 


the work of John Paul Jones upon 
the sea, and the treason of Bene- 
dict Arnold at West Point. 

John Paul Jones was a Scotch- 
man (born in 1747) who came to 
Virginia shortly before the Revo- 
lutionary War. When the war 
began, the Americans had no 
navy, but soon Congress or the 
colonies commissioned private 
vessels to prey upon British com- 
merce. These vessels are called 
privateers. They are not public 
armed vessels, but private vessels, 
authorized by letters of marque 
and reprisal, to arm themselves 
and capture or destroy merchant 
vessels of the enemy. It is piracy 
under the form of law, and civil- 
ized nations have now nearly 
abandoned the custom of author- 
izing privateers. John Paul Jones 
was in command of the most 
famous of these privateers, the 
Bon Homme Richai'd^ with a few 
other vessels. He ‘^bearded the 


lion in his den,” by sailing to the very coast of England and 
Scotland, attacking exposed places, scouring British waters for 




THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


153 


merchant vessels, and finally the Richard engaged the British 

vessel the Serapis in one of the bloodiest sea fights in history, 

considering the forces engaged. Jones ran his vessel alongside 

the Serapis and lashed the two boats together. It was then a 

death struggle hand to hand. The Serapis finally surrendered, 

but not until the Richard was so disabled that Jones had to 

transfer his men to the British vessel, while his own jongg 

vessel soon sank in the sea. This was the beginning asserted 

m 0 1* i c d. u 

of American sea power. The American sailors won power on 
prestige and praise in Europe ; and the Dutch, be- 
cause they harbored Jones, whom the English demanded as a 
pirate, became involved in a war with England. 

187. Arnold’s Treason. — Benedict Arnold had rendered great 
service to his country in the war. He had, through great hard* 
ship, led an expedition to Canada in 1775; he had helped to 
relieve Fort Stanwix in the Burgoyne campaign; he had been 
one of the bravest and ablest leaders in defeating Burgoyne ; 
and he had been severely wounded in the battle of Saratoga. 
It would have been better for him if he had been killed ; for 
then he would have been honored as one of the heroes of the 
Revolution and his memory saved from disgrace. 

In the summer of 1778, when Arnold’s wound disabled him 
from active service, Washington placed him in command of 
Philadelphia, after the British evacuated that city. Here 
Arnold married a Tory woman, and he came to believe, with 
his Tory friends, that the French alliance was a bad policy and 
that the victory of Saratoga and Lord North’s terms of peace 
ought to have ended the war. He was accused of favoring the 


Tories, of high living and extravagance, and of taking government 
property for private use. He ran in debt and engaged in specula- 
tions. On the charges brought against him by his Whig enemies 
he was acquitted by court-martial, but Washington was directed 
to give him a public reprimand for imprudence. Washington 
did this as gently as possible, but Arnold felt himself persecuted 
and insulted. He had already been in correspondence with the 
British authorities, and he now decided upon the infamous course 


154 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


of selling himself and his country to the enemy. He resigned 
his command at Philadelphia, but Washington still had confi- 
dence in him, and in July, 1780, he gave Arnold com- 
commandof niand of West Point, a fortress necessary to the 
West Point, control of the Hudson. Arnold was resolved not to 
go over alone to the enemy, and he accepted the com- 
mand of this important fortress with the intention of surrender- 
ing it to the British. It was an act of mean ingratitude to 
Washington and of the basest treason to his country. By 
secret correspondence with General Clinton a meeting was 
arranged between Arnold and Major John Andre, a British 
officer, who came disguised within the American lines to 
arrange the plan for carrying out Arnold’s treason. Arnold 
gave Andre a pass through the lines and papers describing the 
fortress and the disposition of the troops. Andre put these 
papers in his boots, and on his way back to the British lines he 
was captured by three Americans, who could not be 
is discovered induced by bribes or threats to let him go. They 
and Andre disregarded his pass, searched him, and found the 

hanged. Air ttti* 

papers from Arnold. Andre was sent to Washing- 
ton, but the papers were sent to Arnold, and this gave the traitor 
a chance to escape. He went to the British, received pay for 
his perfidy, and he served for a while in the British army. 
After the war he lived in England and died in poverty, 
despised and scorned by all men. Andre was hanged as a 
spy, meeting the same fate that the American patriot Nathan 
Hale had met, who had been hanged as a spy by the British 
general, Howe, four years before. 


The Campaigns in the South 

188 . The British in Georgia and the Carolinas, 1778, 1779. — 

For two years after June, 1776, the South was free from inva- 
sion. But in 1778 the British captured Savannah. In the 
summer of 1779 the Americans under General Lincoln and 
Count Pulaski, aided by the French fleet under D’Fstaing, 


THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


155 


attempted to recapture Savannah, but were repulsed with the 
loss of one thousand men, Pulaski being among the slain. The 
British then invaded South Carolina and captured. Charles- 
ton with General Lincoln and his army of three thousand 
men. 

South Carolina was overrun by the British, and the Ameri- 
cans, under the incompetent Gates, were totally defeated at the 
battle of Camden, August 16, 1780. Georgia and 
South Carolina seemed lost to the American cause, Americans 

but Marion, the Swamp Fox,” and Sumter and defeated at 

Camden. 

Pickens and other South Carolina patriots kept the 
Whig spirit alive and continued the fight, annoying the British 
forces by an irregular warfare. There was bitter partisan strife 
between Whigs and Tories and excesses on both sides. At 
King’s Mountain (October 7, 1780) the hardy patriot riflemen 
of the frontier, under John Sevier, killed or captured a body 
of eleven hundred Tories. 

At Cowpens (January 17, 1781) a new American army under 
General Nathanael Greene, one of the best generals of the Revo- 
lutionary War, and General Daniel Morgan, one of 
the heroes of Saratoga, defeated and nearly destroyed defends 
the British forces under Tarleton. This was one of 
the most notable and effective victories in the southern cam- 
paign. But Greene was not able to stand against Cornwallis’s 
full forces, and he began a masterly retreat across North Caro- 
lina. Cornwallis tried in vain to overtake Greene’s army, but 
the rains favored the Americans, and the rivers rose at the right 
time to delay the British pursuers. Greene gave battle at Guil- 
ford Court House, March 15, 1781. He was defeated, but Corn- 
wallis lost so heavily that he was unable to pursue farther, and 
retreated to Wilmington, North Carolina. Greene then returned 
to South Carolina and fought the battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, near 
Camden. The British, under Lord Rawdon, held the field, but 
Rawdon’s forces were crippled and his communications cut, and 
he was compelled to retreat into Charleston. Greene then won 
the battle of Eutaw Springs (September 8, 1781) and drove the 


cx 

o 


o 

CO 











Orleans, 


j\ava^ 


NORTH AMERICA 


SCALE OF MILES 


EQUM^ 


L. L. POATES ENSR’G CO., N.Y, 


120 Longitude West 100 from Greenwich 80 


156 


THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


157 


British from the interior of Georgia into Savannah. Thus in 
a little over a year Greene’s brilliant campaign had xhe British 
compelled the sections of the British forces to retire 
to three seaport cities, — Wilmington, Charleston, three 
and Savannah. seaports. 

189 . The British surrender at Yorktown, 1781. — The end was 

now near at hand. Cornwallis went to Virginia, where a British 
force under the traitor Arnold had been plundering for several 
months. Cornwallis joined Arnold’s forces to his own, sent 
Arnold to New York, fortified Yorktown, and settled himself to 
await reenforcements. The British were now in their trap. A 
French fleet under De Grasse sailed up the Chesapeake in Sep- 
tember. The French troops at Newport joined Washington at 
New York, and the combined forces marched rapidly southward 
to cut Cornwallis off by land, leaving Clinton in the belief that 
they intended to attack New York. The French fleet drove off 
the British ships, and C'ornwallis, finding himself surrounded by 
superior forces on land and sea, on October 19, 1781, surren- 
dered his entire army of seven thousand men. 

The surrender at Yorktown virtually ended the war. The 
British held New York, Charleston, and Savannah for a while 
longer, but there was no more fighting. When Lord 

O' 00 ji surren- 

North heard of the news of Cornwallis’s surrender, he derat 
threw up his hands and exclaimed, “ O, God ! it is all p°actk^ny 
over ! ” The king was still obstinate, and he said he ended the 
would never consent to the independence of America. ’ 

The Parliament, however, soon voted against continuing the war, 
and Lord North’s ministry was forced out of office (March 
20, 1782). The king had to submit. George’s personal gov- 
ernment had broken down, and constitutional government was 
again restored. This was one of the great results of the Ameri- 
can Revolution. It brought a better liberty not only to America 
but to Great Britain as well. The king had to call the Whig 
party again to power, — Rockingham, Shelburne, Fox, Burke, 
and the younger Pitt. The Whigs were the friends of America, 
and they came into power with the avowed purpose of ending 


158 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


the American war by recognizing American independence. 
They wished to detach America from France, and they were 
ready to agree to very generous terms of peace. 

190 . The Treaty of Peace, 1783. — The preliminary terms for 
a treaty were agreed to at Paris, November 30, 1782, but the 
final treaty was not signed till September 3, 1783, on the same 
day that France and Great Britain made peace. 

The American negotiators were Doctor Franklin, John Adams, 
and John Jay, and their diplomacy won a great victory for the 
Americans. They had instructions from Congress to enter into 
no peace plans without the knowledge and consent of France. 
But Jay and Adams became suspicious of France, believing that 
she was seeking certain advantages for Spain at the expense of 
the Americans. They became convinced that France and Spain 
The were trying to prevent the Americans from extending 

Americans their boundaries to the Mississippi, and that Spain was 

1)0C^1X10 ^ 

suspicious trying to deprive them of the right to the free naviga- 
of France. ^j^at river, and France to take from them the 

rights in the fisheries which the colonists had enjoyed ever since 
1713, by the treaty of Utrecht. France was willing to let the terri- 
tory north of the Ohio go to Great Britain and that south of the 
Ohio she would have made an Indian country under the protection 
equally of Spain and the United States. The American min- 
isters thought they should look out for the interest of their 
country, and so disregarded the instructions of Congress and 
came to terms with Great Britain without letting France know 
of it. Franklin apologized to the French minister, Vergennes, 
for having made a treaty without his knowledge, and France 
and Spain were surprised and somewhat chagrined at the liberal 
terms the Americans had obtained. 

American independence was recognized, and the boundaries 
of the United States were fixed at the Great Lakes and Canada 
on the north, the Mississippi on the west, and Florida 
on the south, at 31° north latitude. This gave Amer- 
recognized. 3,re2L of about 827,800 square miles, with a 

population of about 3,250,000 people. The navigation of the 


Independ- 
ence was 



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The United States Commissioners in 1 782 to sign the Treaty of Independence. The 
story is told that when the Commissioners became convinced that France did not 
desire to settle the western boundary of the United States where the Americans 
thought it should be, Franklin asked Jay, “Would you break your instructions?” 
“Yes,” said Jay, “ as I break my pipe,” breaking and throwing his pipe into the 
fire. The Commissioners ultimately decided that in the circumstances they might 
ignore the letter of their instructions and an unexpectedly favorable treaty with Great 
Britain was secured without the aid of France. This picture is from an unfinished 
painting by Benjamin West. I'he figure behind Franklin is that of his grandson. 









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THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


159 


Mississippi was to be open and free to both nations, and the 
Americans were to have fishing rights on the banks of New- 
foundland and on the Canadian shores. 

The Americans agreed, on their part, that Congress should 

recommend to the states that all debts due from Americans to 

British merchants should be paid, and that no legal Americans 

obstacles be put in the way of their collection in the agreed to 
1 ^ 111 pay debts 

courts ; and Congress was to recommend that the ^ue British 

property of the Tories which had been taken away merchants. 

should be restored and that these loyal subjects of the king 

should be allowed to return to the states. These parts of the 

treaty were very displeasing to some of the states, and they 

refused to carry them out, partly because the British carried 

away some of the negroes of the Americans when their armies 

withdrew from the country, and partly because of the bitter 

feeling toward the Tories. 

In many places the Tories had been driven from their homes 
and in other ways had been harshly treated. It was felt that 
they had turned against their own countrymen, and xories were 
that they had done more than any other class to harshly 
bring on and continue the war. In some states they 
were very numerous, comprising nearly one half the people, 
and this made the war for independence in some of its aspects 
like a civil war. Many of the Tories were respectable people, 
men of property and standing ; it was their class interests that 
led them to take the British side. They considered themselves 
true friends of liberty, and many of them were in favor of Amer- 
ican rights to a certain extent ; but they were opposed to agita- 
tion and change, and were especially opposed to independence 
and the French alliance. In spite of the treaty, some of the 
states continued their hard laws against the Tories, and many of 
them left for Halifax and other British settlements. A milder 
course would have been wiser, for in their departure America 
lost some worthy citizens. The bitter feeling between Patriot 
and Tory of the Revolution continued for many long years in 
America. 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


j 6o 


191 . The Army disbanded, and Washington retires, 1783. — 

After peace was assured, the American army was disbanded, the 
British withdrew their forces, and Washington went to Annapo- 
lis and resigned his command into the hands of Congress. In 
these closing days of the war Washington gave renewed evi- 
dence of his great and noble spirit. After Cornwallis’s surren- 
der he had led the army to Newburgh on the Hudson, where 
he held the forces together till peace was assured. The army 
had been neglected. The soldiers were unpaid, and Congress 
was making no provision, for their payment. The soldiers were 
about to be dismissed to their homes, many of them to face want 
and destitution, their only pay being the memory of their vic- 
The New- and their scars. While the army was feeling 

burgh Ad- the injustice and ingratitude of this treatment, an 
anonymous address was distributed among the soldiers, 
urging them not to disband until they had forced payment for 
their claims. This meant a military revolution, and a king 
might have been set up. Washington opposed the proposal. 
In a meeting of his officers he appealed to them to remember 
the liberty of their country and the honor of the service, and 
to have confidence in their government ; and he promised to try 
The soldiers to get fair pay for the soldiers. Washington himself 
had served without pay, receiving only his neces- 
sary expenses, and when he spoke of his growing 
both blind and gray in the service of the army, 
his appeal won the approval of all. Congress could 
get no money ; but it voted the soldiers full pay for five 
years in government certificates, and with these and their 
arms, and the gratitude of their country, the Revolu- 
tionary soldiers went back to their homes to culti- 
vate the arts of peace. Washington went to his 
home at Mount Vernon, where, he said, he would 
rather live in quiet retirement than to be the emperor of the 
world.” 

The states were now free and independent. It remained to 
be seen whether they could govern themselves and live in har- 


were dis- 
satisfied, 
but Wash 
ington 
pacified 
them. 


Washington 
retired to 
Mount 
Vernon. 



Mount Vernon. 

The home of Washington is situated in Virginia, a short distance from the city of Washing- 
ton, on a beautiful spot overlooking the Potomac River. The place. is neatly kept and the 
mansion contains many historical relics of great interest. From a recent photograph. 






THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 


i6i 


mony and union. They were now to enter upon another long, 
though peaceful, struggle for a central government. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1775. Meeting of Second Continental Congress, September 5. — Washington 

appointed Commander-in-chief, June 15. — Battle of Bunker Hill, 
June 17. — Montgomery and Arnold’s Attack on Canada, November 
and December, 

1776. The British evacuate Boston, March 17. — The British repulsed at Fort 

Moultrie, June 28. — Declaration of Independence, July 4. — Bat- 
tle of Long Island, August 27. — Americans evacuate New York, 
September 16. — Battle of White Plains, October 28. — Washing- 
ton retreats through New Jersey. — Washington’s Victory at Tren- 
ton, December 26. 

1777. Washington’s Victory at Princeton, January 3. — Howe transfers his 

Army to Chesapeake Bay. — Battle of Brandywine, September ii. 
— Battle of Germantown, October 4. — Battle of Saratoga or Still- 
water, October 7. — Burgoyne’s Surrender, October 17. — Wash- 
ington’s Army at Valley Forge. 

1778. The British capture Savannah, December 29. — The French Alliance, 

February 7. — George Rogers Clark’s Expedition to the North- 
west. 

1779. The Americans are repulsed at Savannah. — The British conquer Geor- 

gia. — Wayne captures Stony Point. 

1780. The British capture Charleston, May 12. — British Victory at Camden, 

August 16. — Arnold’s Treason, September. — American Victory at 
King’s Mountain, October 7. — General Greene takes Command in 
the South. 

1178. Battle of Cowpens, January 17. — Greene’s Retreat across North Caro- 
lina. — Battle of Guilford Court House, March 15. — Battle of Hob- 
kirk’s Hill, April 25. — Battle of Eutaw Springs, September 8. — 
Cornwallis’s Surrender at Yorktown, October 19. 

1782. Peace Negotiations. 

1783. Washington takes leave of the Army. — The Newburgh Address. — 

Final Peace Treaty. 


CHAPTER XII 


THE OLD CONFEDERATION AND ITS FAILURE 


192 . The Old Confederation’’ existed from 1781 to 1787. — 

When we speak of the “ Old Confederation ” in American his- 
tory we mean the form of government for the United States 
which was in operation just before the adoption of the Consti- 
tution, from 1781 to 1787. This was a very weak government 
and it soon became necessary to set it aside. In this chapter 
we are to learn the reasons for its failure. 

First, let us see when and how the Old Confederation’' was 
formed. 

When the Continental Congress met at Philadelphia in Sep- 
tember, 1774, to consider ways of opposing the offensive acts 
The States of the British Parliament, there was yet no political 
union among the colonies. The colonies were not 
independent of Great Britain, but they were independ- 
ent of each other. The meeting called the Con- 
tinental Congress ” was the means by which they 
were to act together until they could form a league of friend- 
ship or adopt some rules and regulations by which they could 
live in union with one another. They had stood by one another 
in the ten years of controversy with the mother country over 
taxation and other matters in dispute, and in I 775 ,when it was 
seen that Great Britain proposed to make war upon them to 
coerce them into submission, and that they would have to fight 
to defend their rights, they proposed to stand by one another 
more closely than before. Their delegates in Congress resolved 
on union as soon as they resolved on independence, because in 
their struggle for independence they wished to present a united 
front to their enemy and to the world, and they knew, as 


cooperated 
in the Conti- 
nental Con- 
gress to 
oppose Great 
Britain. 


THE OLD CONFEDERATION AND ITS FAILURE 163 


F'ranklin said while they were signing the Declaration of 
Independence, that ‘Hhey must all hang together or they would 
all hang separately.” 

On June 12, 1776, the day that a committee of the Conti- 
nental Congress was appointed to draft a declaration of inde- 
pendence, another committee was appointed to draw Articles of 
up ‘‘Articles of Union” among the colonies. This Union were 

^ . adopted by 

committee, composed of one member from each col- congress in 
ony, reported a plan of union called the “Articles of i777 and 

^ ^ . ratified by 

Confederation” (July 12, 1776). This plan of union the states 

was debated in Congress from time to time until 
its adoption on November 15, 1777. After it was adopted by 
Congress it was referred to the states for their acceptance, with 
the understanding that this union, or league of friendship, was 
not to go into force until every single state had given its con- 
sent ; that is, had ratified the “Articles of Confederation.” This 
was not done until March i, 1781. 

193 . Reasons for Delay in forming the Union. — Thus, we see, 
the war for independence was nearly over before the states all 
agreed on a plan, or constitution, for their union. The reason 
for this delay was that there were several subjects of contro- 
versy upon which they could not readily agree. 

In the first place, it was not easy to agree as to the method of 
voting in Congress. Should the states vote equally, each state 
having one vote, or should their votes be in proper- ^ 
tion to their population or wealth ? This question versy over 
brought into view the fears and jealousies of the small 
states toward the large ones. The small states were the 
afraid their rights and the liberty of their citizens 
would be endangered unless they had equal voting power in the 
union. They would consent to no union without an equality 
of states. This does not mean that they wanted the country 
carved up into new states equal in population and area, but 
that they wanted the small states to have equal political power 
with the large ones. It was to be a union of states, not of indi- 
viduals. The small states gained this point. 


164 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Another subject of dispute was, How shall the common 

expenses be distributed among the states ? The small states 

2. Con- insisted, of course, that expenses should not be borne 

troversy equally, but in proportion to the wealth of the states. 

over the . . ti 

distribution Benjamin rranklm thought that if the states voted 

of expenses, equally they ought to pay equally, and he was sure 
the small states would not wish to purchase equal voting at 
that price. The small states got their way in this contention 
also, for it was finally decided that “ in determining questions 
in Congress, each state shall have one vote ; and that all ex- 
penses should be borne by the states in proportion to the value 
of their lands and houses.” This plan for voting and assessing 
the common expenses on the states was a very poor one, 'and it 
soon broke down. 

Another controversy that delayed the formation of the Union 
was over the regulation of commerce. New Jersey at first re- 
fused to ratify the Articles of Confederation because 
power was not given to Congress to pass navigation 
acts ” ; that is, to regulate the foreign trade of the 
states and to determine import duties. Each state 


3. Con- 
troversy 
over the 
regulation 
of com- 
merce. 


was allowed to regulate its own trade and fix its own 


port duties or tariffs. No state was allowed to collect a duty 
that would interfere with the treaties that it was hoped would 
be made with France and Spain. But with this exception each 
state was left free to do as it pleased with its trade laws. New 
Jersey’s objection was a sound one, but she patriotically decided 
to forego this objection for a time and to ratify the Articles of 
Confederation, in order that the states might be able to avoid 
divisions and thus show Great Britain and the world that they 
were united in their struggle for independence. 

Another cause that delayed the Union — the most important 
of all — was the controversy over the Western lands. 
Some of the states claimed that their western bound- 
ary extended to the “South Sea”; i.e. as far west 
as the continent extended. Others, like New Jersey 
and Maryland, had no such claim. These contended that 


4. Con- 
troversy 
over the 
Western 
lands. 


THE OLD CONFEDERATION AND ITS FAILURE 165 


the boundary of each state should be definitely fixed, and 
that the vacant lands in the West — commonly called crown 
lands ” because they lay beyond the limits clearly recognized 
in the colonial charters — should be owned by the United 
States, and that this land should be used for paying the expenses 
of the war and for other common purposes. The Articles of 
Confederation made no provision for this, and Maryland held 
out and persistently refused to ratify the Articles of Union until 
the claiming states promised that the Western territory would 
be ceded to the United States government. In this Maryland 
performed a great service in the formation of the union, for 
the common ownership of the Western territory was afterwards 
a very important influence in promoting stronger union and 
nationality. 

194. There was no Constitution for the Union under the Conti- 
nental Congress. — Thus we see there was no common, or cen- 
tral, government for the states for seven years after they began 
to act together (1774-1781). The only government they had 
in common was that of the Continental Congress ; but this body 
is not to be thought of as a regular government, or as a legisla- 
ture with recognized powers. It had no powers conferred upon 
it. No constitution or convention created it or provided for 
it. There was no law to govern its action, no rule nor 
precedent for it to go by. It was an unconstitutional revoiution- 

and revolutionary body. It was composed of dele- govern- 

ment. 

gates who had come together by appointment of 
rebellious colonies in order to consult about their dangers and 
grievances, and to plan how the colonies could best act together 
in defending their rights. Its members could deliberate and 
decide what was best to be done, and then advise the colonies 
all to stand together in carrying this out. 

In some respects the Continental Congress acted like a na- 
tional government, issuing bills of credit (continental 
money), organizing a post office, raising a continental Revolution 
army, appointing Washington to the chief command, 
declaring independence, and proceeding to make trea- cooperation. 


i66 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


ties with foreign nations. That is, in some very important 
and pressing matters, Congress proceeded to carry out its own 
decisions by its own agents, expecting to be sustained by the 
united support of all the states. The people of the various 
states were generally wise and patriotic enough to follow the 
direction and leadership of this assembly, or not to interfere 

with its policies and 




EIGHT 




EIGHT 

T his Bill eMUle* the 

Bearer to Peeeive 
EICRT SfianiP) miUtJ 
D 0 L. L 4 R or the 
Value thereof Id Gold 
or Silver accordm# to 
a Refolulion of CON 
GR ESS, paffed act Phi 
Nov - 2/ 1776 



J.HOI3 


.nm 


Continental Paper Money. 
This at times became almost valueless. 


10 


o 


m 


decisions ; for they 
believed that a con- 
gress like this, repre- 
senting all the states 
and standing for 
united strength and 
action, could tell bet- 
ter than any one as- 
sembly what ought 
to be done and could 
do it better for all. 
So while they were 
arranging a plan of 
union and were in the 

midst of the dangers of the war, they allowed Congress, by 
common consent and good will, to conduct important govern- 
ment affairs in which they all had a common interest and which 
Congress could do so much better than the states could sepa- 
rately. Congress attended only to foreign affairs and the war, 
while on matters of government, of controlling their people, it 
merely advised the states. There was no central government 
with power to tax, arrest, and control the citizens of the states. 

195. Government was attended to in the States. — But we 
must not think the people were without government during this 
period. They believed in law and order and the rights of prop- 
erty, and they intended to preserve these, although they were 
conducting a revolution by throwing off old governments and 
settingup new ones. But the governing of the people, — the 
legislatures they chose, the laws they obeyed, the taxes they 




THE OLD CONFEDERATION AND ITS FAILURE 167 


paid, the property and civil rights they secured, the officers and 
civil courts set over them, — all this was attended to within the 
states. 

It was to the commonwealths of Virginia and Massachusetts 
that the people of those states looked for control and direction in 
the usual affairs of government. They did not think of looking 
to the Continental Congress. During this period (1776-1781) 
all the states adopted new constitutions, except Rhode Island 
and Connecticut, which retained the liberal charters which they 
had as colonies — Connecticut till 1818 and Rhode Island till 
1842. These constitutions adopted by the representatives of 
the people in the several states created a complete government, 
separate and independent for each of the states. In doing this 
they were following the advice of the Continental Congress. 

Many of these new state governments were only the old 
colonial governments modified to suit the new conditions. These 
had been in existence for over a hundred years. When independ- 
ence had been declared and the royal power had been thrown 
off and the king’s governor and legislature were no longer 
obeyed, the people of Massachusetts, for instance, felt that the 
supreme power that once abided in the king had fallen to the 
people of that state ; the people of the state were now to be 
the source of power, of honors, appointments, and authority. It 
was so in the other states. 

These new state governments began usually in ‘‘ Provincial 
Congresses.” As early as October, 1774, the House of Repre- 
sentatives in Massachusetts, which was elected by the people, 
broke off relations with Governor Gage, the royal governor, and 
organized itself as a “ Provincial Congress.” It organized a 
Committee of Safety and afterward a state government. In 
1776 New Hampshire adopted the first state consti- 
tution, and by the close of 1777 all the states had constitu- 
separate, independent constitutions of government in 

. adopted. 

working order. The most famous of these state con- 
stitutions was that of Virginia (adopted June 12, 1776), whose 
‘‘bill of rights,” written by George Mason, announced most of 


i68 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


constitu- 

tions. 


the principles contained in the Declaration of Independence. 
Virginia, declaring independence for herself, asserted that the 
powers of government are derived from the people and that 
rulers are only trustees and servants of the people ; that govern- 
ment exists for the people’s protection, and when the government 
is inadequate, the people have a right to alter or abolish - it. 
Virginia’s government and its principles became the model for 
many later state governments. 

Each state in its constitution provided for the following : — 

( I ) Civil liberty of its citizens, by a bill of rights. 

Provisions , 

of the state ( 2 ) Representative government, including three 

departments, — legislative, executive, and judicial. 

( 3 ) The legislature consisted of two houses ; except 

in two of the states (Pennsylvania and Georgia) there was only 

one house. The principal powers in the state were vested 

in the legislature, and in most cases the governor and other 

administrative officers, as well as the judges, were chosen by 

it. All officers elected by the people generally had short 

terms. 

( 4 ) All these state constitutions provided modes of amend- 
ment and recognized that the supreme power such as could 
make a new constitution abided no longer in king and Parlia- 
ment, but in the people of the state. 

Thus we see that all this system of government within the 
states had been set up — or retained from colonial times — and 
was in full operation nearly four years before the 
plan of union (Articles of Confederation) for the 
states had gone into operation, and fully ten years 
before the Constitution of the United States was made. 
This will lead us to understand that the states made 
the Union, and that the Union did not make the states. 

196. Defects of the Articles of Confederation. — Let us now see 
what kind of a government the Confederation was. This can 
best be understood by noticing its weaknesses and defects. 

I. There was no executive power. There was no President 
to execute the laws. Congress had a Secretary for Foreign 


state 
govern- 
ments pre- 
ceded the 
Con- 
stitution. 


THE OLD CONFEDERATION AND ITS FAILURE 169 


Affairs, like Livingston and Jay, who sought to make treaties 
with foreign powers. It had a Secretary for Finance, ^ Lack of 
like Robert Morris, but these men were mere agents executive 
of Congress and could only do what Congress had 
power to sanction. 

2. There was no national judiciary. Men could not be tried 
in the national courts for violation of the laws. There were no 
national courts. Prize courts were erected to try ^ Lack of 
cases in international law, like the capture of prizes a judiciary, 
at sea, in time of war. But all ordinary lawsuits were attended 
to in the states. As far as the Confederation was a government, 
all its powers were vested in one body, that is, in Congress. 

3. The organization of Congress was defective. It consisted 
of a single house. Its debates were in secret. Its members 
were elected by the states, were paid by the states, 

^ *^3. Defective 

could be recalled by the states, and they voted by states, organiza- 

A state might have as many as seven delegates, but 

^ J ^ Congress, 

must have as many as two or lose its vote; and each 

state, whether it had seven delegates or two, had but one vote. 
Thus Virginia or Pennsylvania counted for no more than Dela- 
ware or Rhode Island. Nine states were required to carry im- 
portant measures. If only ten states were represented, as was 
frequently the case, and only two states voted against a 
measure, it was lost. So the minority could control the 
majority, or, at least, prevent action. It was to the interest 
of a state to keep its delegation small. A full Congress would 
have ninety-one members. Seldom were more than thirty 
in attendance. 

4. Congress had no power to raise revenue. It could not col- 
lect a dollar by taxation. It had to depend entirely upon the 
states for money, or issue paper or borrow from ^ Lack of 
foreign nations. The custom was to make an esti- revenue 
mate of how much would be needed within a certain 

time — say, eight million dollars. Then this amount was allotted 
by requisitions,” or requests, among the several states, to be col- 
lected by them and paid into the United States treasury. The 


1 70 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

states did as they pleased about paying, and they usually chose 
not to pay the amount asked for. So the Confederation could 
not pay its own debts. Foreign nations refused longer to trust 
our government. Even the Revolutionary soldiers could not be 
paid for their patriotic and self-sacrificing service, and they were 
given certificates, or promises to pay, which they had to sell at 
a great discount in order to get money to provide for their 
families. 

A government cannot exist without revenue, and so a special 
effort was made to secure a “ revenue amendment” to the Arti- 
cles of Confederation, by which Congress was to be allowed to 
assess a small, uniform five per cent duty, or tariff, on 

A five per . i i ^ 

cent tariff imported goods, in order to pay our ally, France, what 

duty was owed and to pay the patriot soldiers what they had 

fairly earned. The consent of every state was re- 
quired before any amendment to the Confederation could be 
obtained, and Rhode Island refused to give her consent. At 
another time New York refused, and Virginia withdrew her 
consent which she had already given. Remembering the Stamp 
Act, the people were afraid to allow any power outside the state 
to control or tax them. Virginia had said in her constitution of 
1776 that it was unbecoming that any other government than that 
of the people of Virginia should be erected in that state. 
Richard Henry Lee said he would rather see the United States 
government a rope of sand than a rod of iron.” It was cer- 
tainly at this time no better than a rope of sand. Lee spoke 
for those who feared tyranny and oppression and wanted the 
people of each state to govern and tax themselves entirely, and 
who, in a large degree, looked upon Congress as a foreign or 
outside power. Requisitions on the states proved a complete 
failure in raising revenue, and it was evident the Confederation 
would be broken up and the states fall apart if there were not 
a change. 

5. In the next place. Congress had no power to regulate 
commerce. Commerce with foreign countries and between the 
states was under the control of the states. If Congress had 


THE OLD CONFEDERATION AND ITS FAILURE 17 1 


been given power to regulate commerce, it could have raised 
a revenue by import duties, but now these duties were paid 
into the treasuries of the states. The states were . 5. Lack of 
in rivalry, each trying to gain advantage in foreign 
trade over the others. Some sought free trade, commerce, 
others protection. Duties ^were levied on goods carried from 
state to state. Pennsylvania laid duties on more than one hun- 
dred articles, many of them the products of sister states. New 
York taxed garden truck and dairy products from New Jersey 
and firewood from Connecticut. These states tried to retaliate, 
and New Jersey taxed a New York lighthouse on 

1 T .1 *1 1 11111 States made 

the Jersey shore eighteen hundred dollars a year, selfish and 

This reminds us of the wise objection New Jersey unwise 

11 1-1^ 1 H/T1* -11 tarifflaws. 

had made in the first place. Madison said that state 

was like a cask tapped at both ends,” and North Carolina was 
‘Hike a patient bleeding in both arms.” These two states had 
no good seaports. The foreign goods their people used were 
brought in at New York, Philadelphia, or at the ports of neigh- 
boring states, and the tariff tax their people paid went into the 
treasuries of the states with good harbors. 

So North Carolina, New Jersey, and Connecticut were espe- 
cially anxious that the regulation of commerce should be 
placed in the hands of Congress and that the duties should be 
uniform in all the ports of the country. Without this power the 
states could not protect themselves against the trade restrictions 
of Great Britain and other countries. Before independence the 
colonies had a fair amount of free trade with the other parts 
of the British dominions; but now Great Britain cut them off 
from trading with the British West Indies and in other ways put 
restrictions on their trade, treating them as she treated other 
foreign nations. Thirteen independent state legislatures could 
not act together, except through Congress, in adopting a uniform 
trade policy that would bring better terms. Hard feelings were 
engendered toward Great Britain and bickerings and jealousies 
among the states. The need for a common regulation of com- 
merce was one of the first causes leading to a new constitution. 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


I 72 


Financial 
depression 
and hard 
times lead 
to Shays’s 
Rebellion. 


The result of these conditions was financial and trade depres- 
sion. People had to pay for their imports in gold and silver, 
and the country was being drained of its specie. The people 
had no money, they could find no market for their 
produce. There were hard times, and as is usual in 
such times a demand arose that paper money should 
be issued. There were riots and disorders in various 
parts of the country. Farm lands, cattle, and prod- 
ucts were being taken for taxes and mortgages, and sometimes 
men were thrown into prison for debt. In western Massachu- 
setts nearly two thousand men, mostly farmers, rose in insurrec- 
tion, under Daniel Shays, a captain in the Revolutionary War. 
They sought to close the courthouses and stop suits against 
debtors, and they attacked the arsenal at Springfield. Governor 
Bowdoin acted with promptness, and the state militia under 
General Lincoln suppressed this insurrection after a few months 
(1786-1787). These Massachusetts farmers were not unpatri- 
otic; they were not unruly anarchists by nature. They were 
good citizens, and with half a chance would have been law-abid- 
ing ; but civilized men cannot live without buying and selling, 
and they cannot buy and sell without markets and money. The 
people were suffering from the lack of a uniform currency and 
of trade opportunities, which Congress ought to have been able 
to provide. 

6. This insurrection and these disorders illustrated another 
defect of the Confederation. Congress could not enforce order. 

^ ^ ^ It could not command the service of a single soldier 
power to or do anything to command obedience or enforce a 
enforce \a,w. It had 110 force or authority even to protect 

order. ... ^ 

itself against insult. Congress was driven by a band 
of mutinous soldiers from Philadelphia to Princeton. It was 
seen that if an insurrection occurred within a state too powerful 
for the state authorities to overcome, the general government 
could not come at the call of the state to render aid. These 
dangers alarmed men of ability and property, and when they 
saw that there was no hope of amending the government, since 


THE OLD CONFEDERATION AND ITS FAILURE 


173 


it was required that every state should give its consent before 
an amendment could be in force, they saw that a new goverm 
ment was necessary. The general government could do nothing 
to provide for domestic tranquillity or promote the general 
welfare. 

197. The Nation is a Growth, not a Sudden Creation. — So 

we see that the government of the United States, before the 
Constitution was adopted, was purely a confederate govern- 
ment, a mere league, or band, of states. Each state retains 
its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power * 
not expressly delegated to Congress.” So stated the Articles 
of Confederation. This was agreed to by all when the Con- 
federation was formed. The truth is, the people distrusted 
power outside of the states. The states were supreme. The 
feeling of unity and nationality had not yet grown among the 
people ; so it was impossible that it should be represented in 
their central government. That government represented union, 
but not nationality ; it stood for the states united, — loosely 
united, — but not for the United States as a nation, such as we 
know to-day. A union of states is not a nation. The nation 
had yet to grow. It was not created at a single time by any 
single act. It grew from year to year, and it took two genera- 
tions, nearly eighty years, before it was made certain by the 
Civil War that we had any nation at all. The Declaration 
of Independence made a new nation possible by making 
dependent colonies into independent states. The old Con- 
federation was an important step toward a more perfect 
union. What the Constitution did in the making of the nation 
we have now to see. 

198. Ordinance of 1787 . — But before we leave the Con- 
gress of the Confederation we must notice the famous Ordi- 
nance of 1787 (July 13), one of the greatest pieces of legislation 
in American history. It provided a government for the North- 
west Territory which became a model for the governments 
of almost all subsequent territories. 

The Northwest Territory embraced the land west of the orig- 


174 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The 

Northwest 
Territory 
includes 
five states. 


inal states, north of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi, 
including (besides a small part of Minnesota) the present great 
states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and 
Michigan. The Western lands came into possession 
of the states (not of the United States) by the treaty 
of peace of 1783. South of the Ohio there was no 
dispute as to ownership, each state — Georgia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Virginia — receiving what was immediately 

back of it to the Mississippi. But 
north of the Ohio there were con- 
flicting claims. Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, New York, and Vir- 
ginia each claimed a portion. 

Virginia’s Virginia’s claim was 

claim in the the largest and strong- 

West was , t . 1 i 

est. It was based on an 

early charter of 1609, 
and on the expedition of 
George Rogers Clark 
(1778-1779), who cap- 
tured Kaskaskia and 
Vincennes and gained military 
possession of the country. 

New Jersey and Maryland, as 
we have seen (§ 193), refused to 
ratify the Articles of Confedera- 
tion and come into the Union 
until it had been agreed that the 



based on 
Charter of 
1609 and on 
the expedi- 
tion of 
George 
Rogers 
Clark. 


George Rogers Clark. 

The daring frontier fighter was born 
in Virginia in 1752 and died in Ken- 
tucky in 1818. “ Ilis great serv- 

ices to his country in making the 
frontiers a safe dwelling place were 
overlooked by his countrymen, and 
he died in poverty and obscurity.” 

western lands would be given 
over to the general government. In order to induce the claim- 
ing states to do this. Congress passed a famous resolution (Octo- 
The principle ber, 1 780) guaranteeing that this land should be 

territorial Common benefit of all, and be erected 

policy was into republican states, which shall become members 

territo^ries^ Federal Union.” Here was the wise principle 

into states, set forth for the treatment of territories on which 




175 


176 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Congress has ever since acted. It has done much to extend 
and build up our great republic. 

The states were induced to relinquish their claims. Con- 
necticut reserved a strip in Ohio south of Lake Erie till 1800, 
known as the ''Western Reserve.” All the states then had a 
common interest in the territory. Congress could then sell the 
land to settlers and use the money to pay the national debt. 
In 1785 (May 20) a land ordinance suggested by Jefferson was 
passed which was the beginning of our public land system. The 
western territory was to be divided into townships six miles 
square, each township into thirty-six sections, and one section 
was to be reserved for school purposes. Here was the founda- 
tion of the congressional school fund of the Western states. In 
TheOrdi- ^ 7^4 Jcffersoii introduced into Congress a plan for 
nance of the government of this territory. This prohibited 
slavery after 1800. In 1786 the "Ohio Company” 
of Revolutionary veterans was formed in Boston. They planned 
to settle in the West, and to buy from Congress, through their 
agent, Manasseh Cutler, more than a million acres of land, if the 
laws and institutions of the new country were made to suit 
the settlers. Congress needed money and had land to sell, and 
the great Ordinance of 1787 was passed providing that the 
Northwest should be kept free from slavery, that there should be 
freedom of religion, that education should be encouraged, and 
that the civil liberty of the inhabitants should be guaranteed. 


CHAPTER XIII 


MAKING THE CONSTITUTION 

« 

199 . The Regulation of Commerce had Much to do with the 
Making of the Constitution. — It was the defects of the Con- 
federation that led to the adoption of the Constitution. The 
two most pressing needs of the government were the power to 
levy duties and the power to regulate commerce. The struggle 
for uniform commercial regulations was the immediate occasion 
of bringing about the Constitutional Convention. The leading 
men, like Washington, Madison, and Hamilton, saw clearly that 
Congress must have control over commerce and that this would 
never be given by the separate action of the states. Madison 
proposed a motion in the Virginia Legislature for a convention 
to consider the whole subject of commerce. His motion was 
not passed at first, but Virginia and Maryland appointed com- 
missioners to consider trade on the Potomac. 

These commissioners met in 1785, and they saw that both 
states must have the same laws for trade on the Potomac and 
the Chesapeake, and that a uniform currency was also neces- 
sary. Maryland saw that Pennsylvania and Delaware were 
also interested in a common trade agreement. These states 
also had neighbors. So it was suggested by Maryland that all 
the states should send delegates to a trade conference. Then 
Madison got the Virginia legislature to pass his motion calling 
a meeting of the states. Thus Virginia again took the lead. 
This convention met at Annapolis in September, xhe 
1786. Only five states were represented — New Ter- Annapolis 

. Convention 

sey. New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Vir- prepares 
ginia. Madison and Hamilton were there, and they the way. 
saw the convention had no power, except about trade, and it 
could not do much even on that subject. So they had a com- 

177 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 





jZr./ys^. 










yh<^ £^-^ <iZX_ 

£3^pZ^y^(£^^ 










Washington’s Grp:etings to Franklin upon the Latter’s Return 

FROM France in 1785. 

The wording of the letter shows the courtliness of Washing- 
ton, and the handwriting indicates the great care with which 
he did things. The writing is somewhat reduced in size. 


MAKING THE CONSTITUTION 


179 


mittee appointed to draw up an address to the states, calling 
another convention to devise such provisions as would satisfy 
the needs of the Union.” Madison and Hamilton probably had 
greater designs in mind than they dared reveal. 

200 . The Constitutional Convention meets, 1787. — Congress 
approved this plan, and a call was issued for a convention of 
all the states to meet in Philadelphia, in May, 1787. 

This was the greatest convention that ever assembled Conven- 


con- 


in America. It was composed of the wise and able tained many 
men who made our Constitution, which Gladstone men in the 
called “the most wonderful work ever struck off at a united 

. *111*1 r ♦! States. 

given time by the brain and purpose of man. 
Washington, Madison, Mason, and Randolph were there from 
Virginia; Hamilton, Lansing, and Yates from New York; 
Franklin, Wilson, and Gouverneur Morris from Pennsylvania ; 
King, Gerry, Gorham, and Strong from Massachusetts ; Dickin- 
son from Delaware ; Patterson from New Jersey; Martin from 
Maryland; Sherman, Ellsworth, and Johnson from Connecticut; 
Rutledge and the Pinckneys from South Carolina ; and Davie 
from North Carolina. Jefferson was in France, John Adams in 
England, John Jay was Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and other 
able men, like Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams, did not 
believe in such a convention. Of the fifty-five members more 
than half were college graduates ; many were able lawyers ; 
some had signed the Declaration of Independence ; nearly all 
were experienced in politics. The oldest member was Franklin, 
who was eighty-one; among the young members was Hamil- 
ton, who was thirty. Twelve states were represented, but most 
of the time only eleven states. New Hampshire came late, 
and Rhode Island did not come at all. 

The Convention held its debates in secret, after the manner 
of governing bodies in those days. Seven states made a quorum, 
and each state had one vote ; if a state delegation was Rules of the 
evenly divided, its vote was lost. Washington was Coiivention. 

made president, no other name being thought of except 
Franklin’s. 


i8o 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Madison, who was called the '' Father of the Constitution,” 
came to the Convention resolved to preserve a record of its 
Madison debates, because he had not been able to find in his- 
kept a care- ^Qj-y g^j^y good account of the reasons given for form- 

of the pro- ing Other federal governments. He took a seat near 
ceedings. center of the hall, attended every day, took notes 

of what the members said, and sat up at night to write out 
these notes. It cost him great pains and labor, but in this way 
Madison preserved a ‘‘Journal of the Convention,” one of the 
greatest services any man ever rendered to his country. Fifty 
years later, in 1836, when Madison died (and after all the other 
members of the Convention were dead), his widow, Dolly Madi- 
son, wrote to President Jackson calling attention to this “Jour- 
nal ” which her husband had left to her in his will. President 
Jackson secured an appropriation of thirty thousand dollars 
from Congress and bought the “Journal” and other Madison 
papers. It was then published, and it is the most important 
single volume on American history. It tells how this great 
Convention carried on its work and what the members said. 

201. A New Government was made. — The Convention had 

been called “to amend the Articles of Confederation,” but it 
threw these aside and made a new Constitution instead. It 
thus acted beyond its powers, and some, for this reason, have 
called its action a revolution. Its members, however, were 
wise enough to erect a worthy standard and, although they 
could not adopt anything themselves, they would propose to the 
Sources of states what they saw was necessary. The sources from 
theConsti- which they drew the Constitution were the constitu- 
tution. government of England, the constitutions of 

the various states, their experience in the colonies and in the 
Confederation, and their knowledge of law and the science of 
government. Not very much that was new, that was “struck 
off at a given time,” was put in the Constitution ; everything 
was the result of experience. 

202. Difficulties of the Convention. — There were many prob- 
lems to solve ; there were hot debates, and on several occa- 


MAKING THE CONSTITUTION 


i8i 


sions the Convention almost broke up in serious conflicts of 
opinion. Franklin by his genial wit and good stories kept pour- 
ing oil on the troubled waters. He said he had lived long 


enough to learn that God 
governs in the affairs of 
men,” and at one time he 
asked that the Convention be 
opened with prayer for di- 
vine guidance ; and when the 
members showed hot tem- 
pers Franklin reminded them 
that it was light, ^ ... 

not heat, that was was a peace- 
wanted, that they 
had come together to con- 
sult not to contend”; that 
the members should do what 
they could to enlighten and 
convince one another, but ex- 
pressing fixed opinions with 
determination never to change 
them would not help along 
any. When a cabinet-maker, 
Franklin said, wanted to fit 
two boards together, he had 
to plane a little off each edge; 
so, now, each side would have 
to give way a little in order to 
fit together all the pieces of 



Benjamin Franklin. 

The “ Sage of the Constitutional Conven- 
tion” was born in Boston in 1706. He 
was a printer and editor and later became 
famous in literary, scientific, political, and 
diplomatic lines. He was a many-sided 
man. He organized the first fire company 
in Philadelphia, drilled troops for the 
Revolution, founded the first public library 
in America, as well as the first scientific 
society, invented the lightning rod, and the 
Franklin stove, which he declined to patent, 
and did many other things for the public 
good. He died in Philadelphia in 1790. 


the new government. It was 

this spirit of mutual concession and compromise that held the 
Convention together and enabled it to make a Constitution. 
203. Compromises. — The Constitution has been called a 


series of compromises.” There were three notable struggles 
and compromises in the Convention. 

I. The large states wanted to form a national government 



i 82 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The large 
states 
wanted a 
strong gov- 
ernment. 


with an executive and judiciary, with two houses of Congress, 
with direct representation of the people, and propor- 

Betw^een 

the large tioiial representation in both houses. “ Proportional 

states and representation ” meant that the number of votes a 
the small. i ^ i i i n -i 

state was to have m Congress should depend upon its 
population or its wealth. They would not abolish the states, but 
they would erect a national government and would subordinate the 
states to the nation. This was the Virginia Plan.” Some of the 
large state party, like Hamilton, were in favor of a 
very strong government. Hamilton would have the 
President and the Senate appointed for life or good 
behavior, the governors of the states appointed by 
Congress, and the laws of the states to be vetoed by Congress 
when they were not in harmony with the general welfare. This 
would have made a much more centralized government. 

The small states wanted to retain, and amend, the govern- 
ment of the Confederation, in which the states had equal 
The small power. They were willing to give more power to 
states Congress, — power to regulate commerce, to raise 

wanted a i i i i 

loose one, or money, and to coerce any state tnat would not 

a league. {|-g federal obligations ; but the 7iature of the 

government was not to be changed. It was to remain a con- 
federate government : the states, not the people, were to be the 
sources of its power ; it was to operate only through the states, 
not on the people directly. This was the ‘'New Jersey Plan.” 
The “ series of compromises ” were chiefly between these two 
“ plans,” or ideas. 

The bone of ^ contention was proportional representation. 
The small This would tend to nationalize the government. It 
would give Virginia sixteen votes to Delaware’s one. 
The large state party won at first and carried pro- 
portional representation in both houses. The small 
state men then got together in caucus and let it be 
understood that they would not “federate” on such 
a plan ; they would break up the Convention first. 
They felt that their statehood and their liberties would 


states 
wanted 
“ equal,” 
while the 
large states 
wanted 
propor- 
tional,” 
representa- 
tion. 


MAKING THE CONSTITUTION 


183 


be '‘swallowed up” by a combination of three or four large 
states which would be able to control everything. Dickinson, 
who was from a small, state, but who was a “ friend to an effi- 
cient federal government,” told Madison it was “ carrying 
things too far,” and one member said they would “ take a for- 
eign power by the hand ” before they would submit to it. Some 
of the men from the large states yielded, and the " Connecticut 
Compromise,” proposed by Ellsworth and Johnson from that 
state, was agreed to, by which there was to be proportional rep- 
resentation in the lower house of Congress but equal representa- 
tion in the Senate. Thus the form of the Senate came out of 
this struggle. Each state was given two votes in that body, and 
the small states having obtained this point were the quickest to 
adopt the new Constitution. 

2. The next great compromise was between the slave states 
and the free. The question arose as to whether the slaves 
should be counted in allotting representatives and 

Between 

taxes among the states. The South wanted to count the slave 
them for representatives, but not for taxes. The states and 

^ . T the free. 

North took* exactly the opposite view. It was agreed 
that “ taxation and representation ought to go together.” That 
was the principle of the Revolution. In 1783 Congress had 
agreed to a revenue amendment to the Confederation, assessing 
expenses on the states in proportion to population, counting 
three fifths of the slaves. This had passed Congress, but it 
was not ratified by the states. Madison and Wilson now called 
this old agreement to the attention of the Convention, and it 
was agreed that " representatives and direct taxes shall be 
apportioned among the several states according to numbers,” 
counting all free persons, those bound to service three- 
(apprentices and indented servants) and "three fifths fifths com- 
of all other persons ” (meaning slaves), but excluding 
Indians, who were not taxed. This was the famous "three- 
fifths compromise,” which had more influence on our subse- 
quent history than any of the others. 

3. The third important compromise was over the slave trade 


184 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


and the regulation of commerce. Most of the states wanted to 
„ ^ abolish the slave trade, but Georgia and South Caro- 

Between ^ ^ ^ 

the commer- lina gave notice that they would not adopt the Con- 
ciai states s^itution if this were done. The commercial states, 

plantation especially those in New England, wanted Congress 
states. have power to regulate commerce by a majority 

vote. The plantation slave states would have this done only by 
a two-thirds vote of Congress, and they would have no inter- 
ference with their exports. New England and the North finally 
agreed that the slave trade should be left open till 1808, and the 
South agreed that Congress might regulate trade by a majority 
vote, but no duties should ever be levied on exports. 

204 . Signing and Ratifying the Constitution. — The majority 
of the Convention were at last able to agree to the Constitution, 
though it was not exactly what any one wanted, and some of 
the members, like Randolph, Mason, and Gerry, refused to sign 
it. It was finally signed by thirty-nine members, delegates from 
twelve states. When it was signed it was referred to Congress, 
and Congress submitted it to the states for acceptance or rejec- 
tion. Each state was free to do as it pleased about ratifying, 
but ratification was to be, not by the state legislatures, but by 
state conventions, called especially for that purpose. This 
made the Constitution more national, as it came, not from the 
state governments, but from the same power that made the state 
governments, the people themselves in the several states. Most 
of the small states soon ratified, but in some of the large states, 
notably in New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia, there were 
hard contests. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay published a series 
of articles in a newspaper explaining and defending the Con- 
stitution. These essays are now collected in a book called 
The “Fed- the Federalist,” and it is one of the best works ever 
erahst.” written on the Constitution and the science of govern- 
ment. Of the eighty-five papers Hamilton wrote fifty, Madison 
thirty, and Jay five — Jay writing on the subjects relating to 
treaties and foreign affairs. 

Hamilton defended the Constitution in the New York conven- 


MAKING THE CONSTITUTION 


185 

tion, Madison and Marshall in Virginia, and King and Gorham 
in Massachusetts. Patrick Henry and George Clinton and many 
other patriotic men opposed it. They did not like it be- Objections 
cause it changed the character of the government ; it tL^constUu 
said ''We, the people,” instead of "We, the states,” tion. 
indicating the source from which the Constitution came ; they 
were afraid the new government would become too strong, that 
the President might become a king, that the rights of the states 
would be interfered with and the people would be oppressed. 
Some of the states would not ratify until they were sure amend- 
ments w'ould be added including a " bill of rights,” such „ 

® . The “ bill of 

as the state constitutions contained, guaranteeing pro- rights” was 
tection to the life, liberty, and property of the people. added. 
The first Congress added this " bill of rights ” in the first eight 
amendments. They were soon ratified by the states, and they 
may be regarded as a part of the original Constitution, together 
with the ninth and tenth amendments, which say that Congress 
shall exercise only those powers that are delegated to it in the 
Constitution and that "all other powers are reserved to the 
states.” Thus the states guarded their rights. 

205 . The Constitution goes into Operation. — The Constitution 
was to go into operation when nine states had ratified it. New 
Hampshire was the ninth state (June 21, 1788), and the " fed- 
eral arch ” was completed. North Carolina and Rhode Island 
did not ratify until after the Constitution went into operation, 
and for nearly two years Rhode Island was not under the laws 
of the Union. 

The Constitution was a beginning, not an end. The first 
experiment at union had failed. A new experiment was now to 
be tried, and the good ship, the Constitution, was now not 
entering the harbor, but was being launched for a trial trip. 

FACTS AND DATES IN THE GROWTH OF THE UNION AND THE 

FORMATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 

1774. First Continental Congress. 

1775. Second Continental Congress. 


i86 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


FACTS AND DATES (Continued) 

1775- 1781. Revolutionary Government of the Continental Congress. 

1776- 1780. Formation of State Constitutions. 

1776. Committee of Congress appointed to draft Articles of Union, June 12. 

Committee reported July 12. 

1777. Articles of Confederation adopted by Congress and referred to the 

States, November 15. 

1781. Articles of Confederation went into Operation, upon Maryland’s Ratifi- 
cation, March i. 

1780- 1786. Cession of Northwest Territory by Claimant States. 

1781- 1783. Attempts to amend the Articles of Confederation. 

1784. Jefferson’s Northwest Ordinance. 

1785. Beginning of Public Land System and Congressional Township School 

Fund. 

1786. Shays’s Rebellion in Massachusetts. — The Breakdown of the Confed- 

eration. — The Annapolis Convention. 

1787. Constitutional Convention, May-September. — Ordinance for the 

Northwest Territory. 

1788. Ratification of the Constitution by the States. — The Federalist” Es- 

says. — Hamilton, Madison, and Jay defend the Constitution. 

1789. The Constitution goes into Operation. — Washington becomes Presi- 

dent. 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE NEW GOVERNMENT 

206. The Constitution remedied the Defects of the Confederation. 

— We have studied the government of the Old Confederation 
and we have seen how the Constitution was made. Let us now 
see what kind of government the new Constitution established. 

The new Constitution remedied the defects of the Confedera- 
tion in various ways : — 

1. Three departments of government were created instead of 
one, — a two-house Legislature to make the laws, an Executive 
to enforce the laws, and a Judiciary to interpret the laws, with 
courts to try citizens for offenses. We are to study each of 
these departments. 

2. The limitations placed on the powers of the states could 
now be enforced and some new limitations were imposed : These 
limitations would prevent the states from interfering with the 
work of the central government.^ 

3. The powers necessary to make the central government 
effective were added : — 

{a) To make uniform commercial regulations and port duties. 

{b) To raise revenue by taxation. 

{c) To coin money and provide a uniform currency. ^ 

(^d) To enforce its own laws through the courts and by its own 
executive power. 

Let us try to understand more fully the deep meaning and 
importance of this law-enforcing power. 

207. A New Citizenship and a New Allegiance are created. — 
The great problem in making the Constitution was to retain 
the states, and allow them to do their proper work, and at the 

^ Note the things the Constitution says a state may not do, Appendix, pp. xxviii, 
xxix. 

187 


i88 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


same time to create a central government with power to do its 

proper work. To do this it was necessary to have two real 

governments for the people of every state, each in its own 

sphere, each supporting the other, and neither interfering with 

There are the Other’s affairs. This meant a double citizenship 

two citizen- for each individual. So the important thing to notice 
ships in the .... _ , , , . . 

United IS, that Citizens ot the states were made also citizens 
States. Qf United States and the United States was thus 
given a n^a/ government with power to make and execute laws 
by its own authority. It was no longer to live by the grace of 
the states. Officials, both state and national, were now required 
to swear to support the Constitution and government of the 
United States. This had not been required before. The peo- 
ple now recognized a new allegiance and a new treason. 

208. The United States enforces its Own Laws through its Own 

Courts. — The necessary power for the new government did not 

come from giving to the United States the power to coerce a 

state or to veto the acts of the states. Both of these powers 

were proposed, but were denied in the Convention. But the new 

power came from making the Constitution and 

the laws and treaties made in pursuance thereof the 

supreme law of the land,” to be enforced in the courts 

just as the state law was enforced. This was the 

great work of the Convention. It made vetoing a 

state law or coercing a state unnecessary. If now a 

enables it to State passes an act contrary to the Constitution and 

work and laws of the United States, the courts declare it un- 
overcome 

state opposi- Constitutional. It is no law at all, and no one is bound 
tion. j£ government or the citizens of a state 

attempt to resist the laws of the United States, the United 
States Government proceeds, not to coerce a state, but to sup- 
press its own citizens in rebellion or insurrection. 

This was what occurred in the Civil War. A conflict arose be- 
tween the two citizenships, or the two allegiances. Some men in 
the South, like General Scott and General Thomas, of Virginia, 
thought their allegiance to the nation was the higher, but most 


The essen- 
tial feature 
of the new 
government. 
Making the 
Constitution 
“the su- 
preme law 
of the land ” 


THE NEW GOVERNMENT 


189 


of the Southern people thought their state allegiance was the 
higher. The states were not coerced, nor destroyed, nor any of 
their rights taken away ; but their citizens, who • were also 
citizens of the United States, were compelled to acknowledge 
their allegiance to the United States government, or to the na- 
tion. They could not be released from that even by the com- 
mand of the state. The Convention of 1787 did not clearly 
recognize this kind of conflict nor provide for it, but it is now 
recognized that this is the kind of government we have under the 
Constitution. Its powers derived directly from the people may 
be used directly over the people to compel obedience. So the 
very natitre of the power was different from anything the Con- 
federation had known. The change was not so much in the 
number of powers that were added, as in the nature of the 
power that was created. This was the power of the nation, 

209 . The States are Supreme in their Own Sphere. — But while 
new powers were added to the central government and many 
were denied to the states, and the very nature of the central 
power was changed, we must not suppose that the nation is 
supreme in all affairs of government. The laws of the states 
are supreme in all things that belong to the states ; the laws of 
the United States are supreme in all things that belong to the 
nation. Each government, state and national, is supreme in its 
place. The Constitution fixes the place and assigns the powers 
for both state and nation. The Supreme Court by unfolding 
the meaning of the Constitution seeks to keep each xhe United 
government in its own place. The national govern- states 

® 1 • 1 • 1 Government 

ment possesses only those powers which it can be exercises 
shown from the Constitution the people have con- powers 

granted to 

ferred upon it, and no more. All the rest of the it in the Con- 
powers of government belong to the states. The stitution. 

states may exercise all powers they are not specifically forbidden 
to exercise. 

The general restrictions of the Constitution do not apply to 
the states, but only to the national government. If a state is 
to be prevented from passing a certain kind of law or exercising 


IQO 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


a power, the word state must appear in the language prohibit- 
ing the act. For example, the Constitution says, ‘‘No ex post 
The states fcicto law shall be passed.” An ex post facto law is 
exercise all q^q which makes a man’s act a crime and punish- 

pX^rTnot able which was not a crime when it was committed, or 
prohibited, which changes the penalty of a crime after its com- 
mission. The language of the Constitution, quoted above, pre- 
vents the United States from passing such a law, but it does 
not prevent any of the states from doing so. To prevent the 
state, it was necessary to say in the Constitution, “No state 
shall pass an ex post facto law.” So the general government 
may do only those things which the Constitution says it may 
do, while the states may do all things which they are not spe- 
cifically forbidden to do. Thus the states have many powers — 
more than can be named — and important rights, which it is the 
duty of the nation to respect and defend. 


A few definitions and explanations of the forms of govern- 
Forms of nient may help the student to understand the char- 
Govern- acter of the American Republic. There have been 
three different forms of government in history. 

Mo7iarchy is the form in which the power is vested in a single 
ruler. If the ruler’s powers are unlimited by law, or by a con- 
stitution, if he can govern at his own will without restraint, it 
is an unlimited or absolute monarchy. Russia and Turkey are 
the only countries in Europe of this kind. If the ruler is 
restrained by a constitution, it is a limited or constitutional 
monarchy. Great Britain is a good illustration of this kind of 
government, where the king ‘is bound by the law and the 
constitution. 

Aristocracy is a government of a few, supposed to be of the 
best citizens. The few who rule are generally hereditary nobles, 
or landholders, or rich men. If it is a government merely of 
the rich it is a Plutocracy, If the few govern only in their own 
interest, as they are likely to do, it is an Oligarchy, 

Democracy is a government by the people. A pure Democ- 


THE NEW GOVERNMENT 


191 

racy can exist only in city states, or in very small areas, for the 
people cannot get together to make the laws in a country of 
great extent. 

A Republic is a form of government in which the people rule 
through their representatives. France and the United States 
are republics, but France is a Centralized Republic^ while the 
United States is a Fedei'al Republic. From 1781 to 1789, under 
the Confederation, the United States was a Confederate Republic. 
Let us see the difference between these three kinds of Republics. 

A Confedei^ate Republic is a mere league of smaller republi- 
can states, bound together for certain purposes. The members 
of such a league are not individual men, but the states. It deals 
with and acts upon the states only. With the individual citi- 
zen it has nothing to do, no right of taxing him, or judging him, 
or making laws for him. Such was the old government of 1781, 
and it was this kind the South attempted to establish in i860 
to 1865. 

A Centralized Republic is one in which all governmental 
powers are vested in one legislature, and all its people are con- 
sidered as in one political community to be governed from a 
common center. Its country may be divided into provinces or 
counties, but these are created and could be abolished by the 
central government, and they exist for its convenience, that the 
laws and policies of the central government may be more 
conveniently carried out. The state of Ohio can subdivide 
its counties, or combine two or three counties into one ; it can 
determine what powers its counties, townships, and cities shall 
exercise, what officers they shall have and how these officers 
shall be elected. Any political division, or community, in the 
state is dependent for its powers and its very life on the central, 
or sovereign, authority of the state. Therefore the state of 
Ohio (considered alone) may be spoken of as a Centralized 
Republic, or a Consolidated Republic. 

A Federal Republic, like the United States, stands between 
these two. It is not merely a union of states, but it is a nation 
made by a union of states. Its component parts are individual 


192 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


citizens, and it claims the direct obedience of its citizens and acts 
directly upon them by its laws and officers. But its states are 
not mere subdivisions of the Union, mere creatures of the national 
government, as are the counties of a state. No state can be 
subdivided, nor two states combined, without their consent. The 
states have powers, rights, and authority of their own which 
existed years before the federal government was created and 
which that government has no right to take away. In 1861 the 
South said that the Constitution of 1787 left the United States 
a confederacy, as they had been from 1781 to 1787, in which 
the states were supreme and could decide on their own destiny. 
The North said that a federal nation had been created, with 
power to enforce its own laws, and that even the command of a 
state could not release a citizen from his allegiance to the nation. 

The word national was not put in the Constitution. It was 
proposed in the Convention but was discarded, and for this 
and various other reasons it was not clear that the Convention of 
1787 intended to make a national government. Many of its 
members desired such a government, and some thought such a 
government had been formed, while others thought not. The 
interpretation of the Constitution, the course of events, and 
especially the Civil War have decided the question, and all 
recognize that we now have a National Federal Republic. 



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White House, East View. 



CHAPTER XV 


THE PRESIDENT 


210. Single or Plural Executive. — The Presidency was created 
by the Convention of 1787 . Under the Old Confederation there 
was no President. There were disputes in the Convention about 
many things, but all agreed that the new government must have 
a chief executive to execute the laws. This is the principal duty 
of the President. 

Some of the members of the Convention were afraid to give 
this important duty to one man. Mr. Randolph thought that 
would be the beginning of monarchy. He said, ‘‘ A 
single magistrate would never secure the confidence wanted a 
of the people,” but would be ^‘too much like the Eng- 
lish king,” and that the people would reject the plan work of the 
on this account. He wanted a plural executive, i,e. 
an executive council of three or five. Mr. Wilson thought since 
all the thirteen states, agreeing in scarcely anything else, agreed 
in placing their executive power in the hands of a single gov- 
ernor, that they would not object to having a single president ; 
that energy, unity, dispatch, and responsibility would be pro- 
moted by a single executive. The majority of the Convention 
agreed with Wilson, and 07ie man, not several men, was made 
responsible for executing the laws. 

211. Term of Office. — The President’s term was fixed at four 
years, and he was made eligible for reelection. Some Hamilton 
favored six years, some seven, some ten, and Hamil- favored a 
ton would have made the Presidency a life office. 

Hamilton was not democratic, and he wanted a strong govern- 
ment. 

No President has ever been elected for more than two terms. 

193 


194 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Washington, Jefferson, and Jackson might have been reelected 
for third terms, if they had chosen to be, but Wash- 
PresMe^n^^ ington set the example of but two terms and the others 
limited to followed ; and it is now almost a fixed custom, a law 
of the unwritten Constitution, that no President is eli- 
gible for a third term. Many think it would be better if the 
President could be elected for only one term, say for six years ; 
then he would not be tempted to use the power and patronage 
of his office to secure a second election. 

212 . Method of Electing the President. — The Convention had 
a hard time in deciding how the President should be elected. 
Several ways were proposed, — by both houses of Congress, by 
the Senate, by the governors of the states, by the people 
directly, by electors chosen in districts of states, and even by 
lot, — a blindfolded page to draw a name from a list selected 
by Congress. It seems strange so many ways were seriously 
thought of. It was finally decided to have each state appoint 
electors in any manner the state legislature may choose, these 
electors to meet in their respective state capitals and 

Xhc clcC” ^ ^ 

torai college vote by ballot for President and Vice President, “ one 

chooses the q£ ^hom shall not be an inhabitant of the same state 
President. 

with themselves.” The whole body of these electors 
are called the electoral college. Each state has as many elect- 
ors as it has senators and representatives in Congress. Every 
state has at least three because it is a state, and then as many 
more as its population entitles it to. New York, the most popu- 
lous state, has thirty-nine; Pennsylvania, thirty-four; Indiana, 
fifteen. Until the twelfth amendment was adopted (1804) the 
electors put two names on their ballots without indicating 
which was intended for President and which for Vice Presi- 
dent. A majority vote was required to elect the President, but 
the ‘^next highest number,” whether a majority or not, would 
elect the Vice President. The twelfth amendment changed 
this. The electors must now designate whom they want for 
President, and a majority is also required to elect the Vice 
President. 


THE PRESIDENT 


195 


Congress may determine the time for choosing the electors 
and also the time for their meeting to choose the congress 
President. The popular election is now held every the 

time for 

fourth year on the first Tuesday after the first Mon- choosing the 
day in November. The electors meet to choose the ®^®ctors. 
President on the second Monday in January, and the two houses 
meet together to count the electoral vote on the second Wednes- 
day in February. 

The state legislatures determine the method of choosing the 
electors. It may be by the legislature itself or by the people 

directly on a common ticket, or by the people in 
1. . Ill • 1 state legis- 

districts as they elect the representatives ; or the latures de- 
legislature might even authorize the governor to terminethe 
appoint them. Originally, they were elected in vari- 
ous ways. In many states the legislatures elected them till 
Jackson’s time (1829), and in South Carolina this was the case 
until the Civil War. Now in all the states the electors are 
chosen by the people on a common ticket. 

Michigan tried the '‘district plan” as late as 1892, and this 
was constitutional, but it was done for party purposes, as the 
party in control of the state at the time knew it could mchi 
carry some of the districts but could not carry the gan plan, or 
whole state. The district plan seems more popular 
and democratic than the common ticket plan ; for it districts, 
seems hardly fair when a party carries a state by a 
very small majority that it should have all the electors from 
that state and the other party should have none. There are 
over 1,200,000 votes in New York. If one party has 601,000 
and the other 600,000, it seems unfair to give all the thirty-nine 
votes of New York to one party, while the minority party could 
carry at least seventeen or eighteen districts. But by having all 
the voters vote for all the electors on one ticket the state can go 
solid for one candidate. This preserves statehood and allows 
the state to count for more in the election. It also makes the- 
parties fight harder to carry a large, doubtful state, like New 
York, and to try to get a ticket that will carry that state. 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


196 ■ 


Of course the electors do not really choose the President. 
He has already been nominated by the party and chosen by the 
The electors people before the electors meet. But the framers 
are not free of the Constitution expected the electors to do the 
whom they choosing. They did not think the people were com- 
piease. potent to elect the President. Gerry said the people 
would be “ the dupes of demagogues,” and Mason said it would 
be like “ referring the choice of colors to a blind man,” to let 
the people choose. It was thought they would not know what 
men were fit to be President. The plan was to let the states 
choose some men wiser than the people, who would meet and 
select the President. This plan broke down before the third 
election in 1796, and ever since then the electors have been 
expected to vote for their party candidate already chosen. 
They are not free to vote for whom they please, but are mere 
agents to ratify an election already made. It would be per- 
fectly legal for an elector to vote -for some other candidate, 
but it would be a base betrayal of a party trust for him to do 
so, and the people would universally condemn him. This is 
another law of the unwritten Constitution that an elector must 
vote for his party candidate for whom he has been elected to 
vote. 

The electoral college, which has been such a failure, was 
adopted to avoid popular election on the one hand and election 

by Congress on the other. It was thought to be dan- 

Why the ^ & & 

electoral gerous to allow Congress to elect the President, for 

college was would sLibiect the Executive to the Legislative, 

adopted. . 

and it was thought essential to good government for 
the three departments, or divisions, of government — Executive, 
Legislative, and Judicial — to be separate and distinct. 

But in case the electoral college fails to elect, if no candidate 
gets a majority, then the House of Representatives elects the 
Final elec- President and the Senate elects the Vice President, 
tion by the Pqj- purpose the House votes by states, each state 
Representa- having one vote. This is a confederate, not a national, 
fives. method of voting. Only the three highest on the list 


THE PRESIDENT 


197 

may be voted for. Jefferson, in 1801, and John Quincy Adams, 
in 1825, were elected in this way. 

213. Qualifications of the President. — The President and the 
Vice President must be native-born citizens of the United States, 
thirty-five years of age, and have been for fourteen years resi- 
dents within the United States. ‘‘ Citizens of the United States 
at the time of the adoption of this Constitution” were made 
eligible. This was done to include such men as Hamilton, 
Wilson, and Robert Morris, who were foreign-born, but who 
helped to make the Constitution, and who rendered great serv- 
ices to the country. All these and their colleagues have long 
since passed away. 

214. How the President is Removable. — The President is re- 
movable only by impeachment. The House brings the charges, 
the Senate tries the case, the Chief Justice presides, and it re- 
quires a two-thirds vote to convict. If the President is found 
guilty of the charges brought against him, he may be removed 
from office and disqualified from again holding office under the 
United States. President Johnson is the only President ever 
tried by impeachment, and he was not found guilty. 

215. Vacancy in the Presidency. — The President’s office may 
be vacated by death or disability, by impeachment, or by resig- 
nation. The Vice President would then succeed to xhe vice 
the office. He is elected by the same method, and he President 
must have the same qualifications as the President, ceedthe 
•The Vice President has two functions to perform, — President, 
to preside over, the Senate and (in the emergency) to succeed to 
the Presidency. 

If a Vice President who has succeeded to the Presidency 
should die in office, the law of 1792 provided that the President 
pro tempore of the Senate should become President, 
and if he should die, the Speaker of the House should Presidential 
come next. The objection to this was that it would succession. 

make a man President who had been elected by Congress, 
or by one of its houses, and he might be a man of a different 
party from that of the man chosen by the people, and this would 


198 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


lead to a reversal of the policies the people had voted for. For 
these reasons a change was made by the Presidential Succession 
Act of 1886, by which, after the President and Vice President 
Cabinet ^^e members of the Cabinet succeed to the Presidency, 
officers may — x.he Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treas- 
the Presi- ury, the Secretary of War, and so on, in the order of 
dency. creation of the departments down to the time of 

the act, which does not include the later departments of Agri- 
culture and of Commerce and Labor. 

216 . The Cabinet. — The Cabinet consists of the heads of the 
Executive Departments, who act as advisers of the President. 
They are as follows : — 

The Secretary of State (1789). 

The Secretary of the Treasury (1789). 

The Secretary of War (1789). 

The Secretary of the Navy (1798). 

The Postmaster-General (1829). 

The Secretary of the Interior (1849). 

The Attorney-General (1870).^ 

The Secretary of Agriculture (1889). 

The Secretary of Commerce and Labor (1903). 


the Presi- 
dent. 


The President appoints these officers, the Senate never refus- 
Cabinet ing to Confirm the men the President wants. He is 
inembersare a 'Tree hand” in choosing his “official family.” 

The Cabinet officers should be in pretty close per- 
sonal relations with the President. 

The Cabinet is not mentioned in the Constitution. It only 
says, “ The President may require the opinion in wi'iting of the 
principal officer in each department.” Washington generally 
consulted the members of his Cabinet individually ; the Cabinet 
did not often meet. The President may follow the advice of his 

1 The Attorney-General was a member of the Cabinet from the organization of 
the government in 1789, but the Department of Justice over which he presides was 
not organized until 1870. 


THE PRESIDENT 


199 


Cabinet officer or not, just as he chooses. The President is re- 
sponsible for the policy of his administration, and if 
his Cabinet members cannot agree with him in carry- President 
ing this out they must resign, as Tyler’s Cabinet did in JJ|>t^accept ^ 
1841 , or he may remove them, as Jackson did in the advice of 
1^33- Jackson settled it once for all, that a Cabinet 
officer is to be subordinate to the President. 

217. Duties and Powers of the President. — The powers and 
duties of the President may be classified as follows : — 

1. Purely executive. — He is to see that the laws are executed. 
This he does through his subordinates. Appointing and re- 
moving officers are purely executive powers, for with- 

out this power the President could not take care President 

that the laws are faithfully executed.” hasiegisia- 

■' , tive, execu- 

2. Diplomatic. — This includes his power to make tive, dipio- 

treaties, to appoint and receive ambassadors. matic, mih- 

' ^ ^ tary, and 

3. Advisory. — The President recommends meas- advisory 

T i • 

ures to Congress, and informs that body of the condi- “ 
tion of the country and of the government. 

4 . Legislative. — The President has power to convene Con- 
gress, veto bills, and to make treaties, which are a part of “ the 
supreme law of the land.” 

5 . Military. — The President is the commander-in-chief of 
the army and navy and of the militia when called into the serv- 
ice of the United States. In time of war this is a great power. 
It is said President Lincoln exercised more power than any 
Englishman since Cromwell. He called out troops, declared a 
blockade, increased the army, suspended the writ of habeas 
corpus, suspended newspapers, made arbitrary arrests, and freed 
the slaves, — all by the exercise of his war power. It is a 
dangerous power in the hands of one man. 

218. The Veto Power. — The President has power to veto a. 
bill. Veto means “ I forbid.” So the President mav forbid a 
bill to become a law. How does a bill become a law It is 
first introduced by a member into one of the houses of Con- 
gress. It is then referred to the proper committee and dis- 


200 


AxMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


cussed there. If the committee is in favor of it, its chairman 
will report it to the house. If the committee disapproves of 

ThePresi- killed (“ smothered ”) in the corn- 

dent may mittec, and that is the end of it. After the bill passes 

veto a bill. houses of Congress by a majority vote and is 

signed by the President, it becomes a law. But if the Presi- 
dent disapproves of the bill, instead of signing it he will ‘‘ veto^^ 
it ; that is, he will send it back to the house in which it origi- 
nated with a message stating his objections. If he does not sign 
it, or return it with his disapproval within ten days, it will be- 
T^- occo come a law without his signature. If he vetoes it, it 
over his veto must then pass by a two-thirds majority in both houses 

a two-thirds cannot become a law. If Congress adjourns 

majority in within ten days after passing a bill, the President may 
each house. sending it back with a message. 

He may leave it unsigned, or ‘‘put it in his pocket” and say 
nothing about it. This is called a “ pocket veto.” It is used 
because the President has not time to consider a bill or write 
out his message explaining his objections to it. 

The Presidents down to Jackson’s time did not use the veto 
much. It was given to the President to check hasty legislation, 
or legislation that violated the Constitution or encroached on the 
power of the President or the Supreme Court. Washington 
and the early Presidents thought it should be used only to pre- 
vent unconstitutional legislation. But Jackson vetoed 
any bill he did not like, any which he thought was 
unwise or hurtful to the welfare of the country. The 
early idea was that Congress should determine the 
legislative policy of the country, and that the President 
was not to interfere unless the Constitution was violated. Jack- 
son increased the President’s power, and made him equal with 
‘Congress in determining policies and laws. Jackson’s idea of 
the veto has since prevailed, and it has become an important 
power. 

219. The Treaty-making Power. — The President has power 
to negotiate treaties. He does this either through the Secretary of 


Jackson 
used the 
veto 

more than 
his prede- 
cessors. 


THE PRESIDENT 


201 


State, or some ambassador. He then submits the treaty to 

the Senate for its consent, and if two thirds of the Senators 

present agree, the treaty becomes binding when confirmed by 

the other nation. The President seeks the cooperation of the 

Senators, especially of the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, while the treaty is in process of making. He is drawn up 

may ask the advice of the whole Senate before a treaty 

is completed, for he does not like to have his treaty proved by 
1 r . 1 • . 1 o ^ the Senate. 

defeated in the Senate. 

220. The Power of Appointment. — The power of appointment 
is one of the most important of the President’s powers. He 
appoints men to office with the consent of a majority of the 
Senate, but he may remove officers without that consent. To 
execute the laws he must have faithful officers under him in all 
the states, — revenue officers, postmasters, judges, marshals. 
This is the chief source of the President’s political power. It 
is a vast power, since nearly two hundred thousand men, a great 
army of officeholders, are appointed by the President. He can- 
not know all these, of course, and he must rely upon the advice 
of others. The custom arose for senators and representatives 
to advise the President in making these appointments, until the 
congressmen came to think it was their right to name, or dictate, 
the men who should be appointed to post offices and to other 
important places in their states. The President may, of course, 
consult members of Congress, but he has no right to surrender 
the appointing power to them. If this were done, then, by the 
spoils system,” only men of one party could hope to have a^ 
place in the government service. The merit system ’’has now 
largely taken the place of the '‘spoils system,” and in these 
offices every one has an equal chance. Civil Service examina- 
tions are held, and those who pass best are put on a preferred 
list to be appointed when vacancies occur. Thus competent 
men are secured. The men who made the Constitution sup- 
posed that any President who would use the offices merely to 
reward party workers and secure his own reelection would be 
impeached. 


202 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


221. The United States guarantees to the States Republican 
Governments. — It is the duty of the United States to guarantee 
to each state a republican form of government. If there are 
rival governments within a state, Congress decides which one 
is the established, or legal, government. It does this when it 
admits members of Congress from that state. But it is the 
President’s duty, if the state requests him, to protect the people 
of a state from riot, violence, or insurrection. In Dorr’s Rebel- 
lion in Rhode Island, in 1842, the President recognized the call 
of the governor, who was acting under the old charter govern- 
ment, which Dorr was resisting. He took steps to call out the 
militia to support this governor, and Dorr’s followers gave up. 
The President may send soldiers to a state only upon the request 
of the state legislature, or of the governor, if the legislature is 
not in session. It is the state’s duty to preserve order and to 
see that the rights and liberties of its citizens are preserved, and 
no state likes to admit that it cannot fulfill these important 
duties. But if an insurrection becomes so powerful, or disorder 

so widespread, within a state^that the governor and 
state authorities cannot put it down, they may call on 
the President for aid. It is clear that this provision 
was put into the new Constitution to guard against 
such dangers as Shays’s Rebellion and other disorders 
that occurred in the states under the Old Confedera- 
tion. So, behind the city stands the state, and behind the 
state stands the nation,” to see that law and order are preserved. 

If riots and disorders within a state interfere with, or violate, 
any United States law, or prevent the United States Govern- 
ment from performing its duty, — such as carrying the mails or 
regulating interstate commerce, — then the President may send 
troops to a state without waiting for the request of the state 
legislature or governor. President Cleveland did this in the 
Chicago railway strikes of 1894. 

222. The President a Great Ruler. — When we think of all 
these great powers, we see what an important office the Presi- 
dency is. And when we remember that under the Old Con- 


The United 
States may 
also put 
down a re- 
bellion or 
insurrection 
in a state. 


THE PRESIDENT 


203 


federation there was no President to do any of these things, we 
can partly understand what a poor and weak government the 
United States had before the Constitution was made. In truth, 
it was not a government at all ; it was only a loose league of 



Front View of the White House. 

The White House is the official residence of the President. It 
is a mile and a half from the Capitol. It is made of stone, painted 
white. The building is 170 feet long and 86 wide. The corner 
stone was laid in 1792; it was occupied in 1800; burned by the 
British, 1814; reoccupied, 1817; has been remodeled recently. 


local governments. People cared very little about it. It had 
very little respect among the states at home and even less 
among foreign nations abroad. But now the United States 
Government, largely through the power of the President, has 
the respect of the world, and receives honor and obedience 
throughout the length and breadth of the land. The President 
is more powerful than the British king. The king is only the 
nominal ruler, the shoivy part of his government. He has 
influence, but not much power. But the President has real 
power, more than any other single member of the government. 
He has influence, too, beyond his powers, both among his own 




204 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


people, and among the kingdoms of the world. This is shown 
by President Roosevelt’s bringing about peace between capital 
and labor in the great coal strike of 1902, and his 
still greater service to all the world in promoting 
peace between Russia and Japan in 1905. When the 
office is filled by a great man, like Washington, 
Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, or Roosevelt, the Presi- 
dent is one of the great rulers of the world. 

But we must remember that his powers are limited. They 
are limited by the Constitution and by the rights and powers 
of the other departments of the government, which we must 
now study. 


The Presi- 
dent has 
more power 
than the 
king of 
England. 


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CHAPTER XVI 


THE SENATE 

223. Size of the Senate. Method of Election. Qualifications of 
Senators. — The Senate, like the Presidency, was created by the 
Convention of 1787. The Congress of the Old Confederation 
had only one house. It was not a lawmaking body, as we have 
seen (§ 196). Such bodies among English people generally 
have two houses, or branches. So one of the first things pro- 
posed by those who wished to form a national government in 
1787 was that the Congress should have an upper house, or 
Senate. Very few opposed this except those who wished to 
retain the old Confederate Government. 

The full Senate now consists of ninety members, two from 

each of the forty-five states. The senators are elected by the 

legislatures of the states for a term of six years, senators are 

Each senator has one vote, and the Constitution prom- chosen by 
1 111 1 1 • 1 r • 1 the state 

ises that no state shall ever *be deprived ot its equal legislature 

vote in the Senate except by its own consent. It tor six years, 
says that no amendment shall ever be made to change this 
clause. Such is the pledge of the Constitution and the genera- 
tion of 1787, though, of course, the sovereign nation that made 
the Constitution could adopt a new Constitution or amend the 
present one by dropping this part entirely. 

A senator is required to be thirty years of age, to have been 
nine years a citizen of the United States, and to be at the time 
of his election an inhabitant of the state from which he is chosen. 
He can hold no other office under the United States while he is 
a Senator. 

224. The President of the Senate. — The Vice President is 
the presiding officer of the Senate. He is not a member of the 
Senate, and therefore he can vote only in case of a tie. The 

205 


2o6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Senate may choose a president pro tempore (for the time being), 
who presides in the absence of the Vice President. Being 
a member of the Senate, the president pro tempore may vote on 
any question that comes up, but having voted once he cannot, 
of course, vote again to break a tie. A motion is defeated by 
a tie vote. 

The terms of one third of the senators expire every two 
years. Thus two thirds of the Senate in every Congress are 
The Senate members. This makes the Senate a perma7ie7it^ 

is a stable or continuous^ body. It does not change all at once, 
and this tends to make it a stable, or steady, body. 
The House changes every two years, though, of course, many 
old members may be reelected. 

225. Vacancies in the Senate. — A vacancy in the Senate 

(caused by death or resignation) is filled by the appointment of 
Vacancies State governor until the next legislature meets, 

are filled which then fills the vacancy. If the legislature fails 

temporarily , i i i 

by the gov- to elect, the governor s appointment no longer holds; 
ernor. jg then taken for granted that the state has con- 

sented to be deprived of its equal representation in the Senate. 

226. The Senate represents the States as Political Bodies. — 
The Senate is confederate in character. A state may have 
seven million people, like New York, or only forty thousand, like 
Nevada ; it will have two votes in the Senate just the same. 
Equal numbers of people should have equal numbers of repre- 
sentatives, or an equal amount of political power, in a demo- 
cratic body. To give forty thousand people as much power as 
seven million is very undemocratic and unrepublican. But the 
Senate is not a democratic body. Our fathers made a govern- 
ment of the states as well as a government of the people, and 
the Senate represents the states as political bodies, not as 
merely districts of people. The Senate was regarded as purely 
federal, not national. 

227. Powers of the Senate. — The Senate has three distinct 
classes of powers: (i) legislative, ( 2 ) executive, and ( 3 ) judicial. 

I. The legislative power of the Senate is to act as an equal 



Senate Chamber, Washington. 












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THE SENATE 


207 


2. Execu- 
tive power 
of the 
Senate, 


branch of the national legislature. Its consent is necessary to 

the passage of bills ; so it has as much legislative power as the 

House. It may not originate a revenue bill, but it 

may amend such a bill and determine its final form, tiv^power 

In i 8 q 4 the Wilson Tariff Bill, after it came from the of the 

Senate 

House, had about one hundred and forty amendments 
attached to it in the Senate. When it came back to the House, 
its friends there hardly recognized it and President Cleveland 
refused to sign it. 

2. The executive powers of the Senate are, — 

(1) To take part in the appointing power; 

(2) To take part in the treaty-making power. 

Treaties arranged by the President are not completed till con- 
firmed in the Senate by a two-thirds vote of the senators present. 
The President’s appointments are confirmed by a majority vote. 

In considering appointments and treaties the Senate goes into 
executive session. This is a secret session. All reporters and 
visitors are turned out, and the senators are on their oath not 
to tell anything that occurs. But newspaper reporters gener- 
ally find out the news and the proceedings are often published 
the next day. For a few years after 1789 all sessions of the 
Senate were in secret, as were those of the Constitutional Con- 
vention and the Congress of the Confederation. It was thought 
that the people could not be trusted with knowing what their 

representatives were doing. 

... . . 3- Thejudi- 

3 , The judicial power of the Senate consists in dai power 

its sitting as a court for the trial of impeachment 
cases brought before it by the House. 

228 . Method of Electing Senators. — Until 1866 each state 
legislature was free to elect its senators in its own way. Con- 
gress may regulate the method of electing senators, but it can- 
not change the electing body nor the place of electing. Congress 
passed a law in 1866 (as the result of a long contest in New 
Jersey), laying down the way in which a state legislature shall 
elect the senator. It requires each house of a state legislature 
to vote separately. If the two houses choose the same man, he 


208 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


is elected. If not, then^ the two houses meet in joint session 
and proceed to vote by voice (not by ballot), a majority of each 
house being present. A majority of the whole legislature is 
required to elect. At least one vote shall be taken daily until 
an election is secured. Sometimes state legislatures ballot in 
joint session for a month without being able to elect. If a 
third party have only a few votes in the legislature, the other 
two parties may be so nearly evenly balanced ’that a majority 
of the whole legislature cannot be obtained for any candidate. 

The provision of the Constitution allowing the state legisla- 
tures to elect the senators is severely criticised. It is thought 
Objections ^o lead to Corruption. Every senator’s seat is con- 

to the pres- tended for by our political parties. They wish to 

ent method i i r- r i • t • i 

of choosing Control the Senate for their party policies and pur- 

the senators, poses. The national organizations of the parties try 
to control the election of state legislatures. This means that a 
state legislature will be chosen, not with reference to the needs 
and interests of the state, but with a view to controlling the legis- 
lature for the party, in order to elect a United States senator. 
Men are often led to vote for a bad candidate for the' state legis- 
lature, because this party candidate is bound to vote for the 
right party man for the United States Senate. In electing a 
state legislature the voters of a state ought to be free to vote 
for the most honest, intelligent, and competent men, who would 
take the best care of the interests of the state ; but if they did 
this they might be voting against their party candidate for the 
United States Senate. Sometimes, nearly all the session of a 
state legislature is taken up with trying to elect a senator, and 
Many favor needed legislation of the state is neglected. For 
election by this reason an amendment has been proposed, and 
the people, repeatedly passed the House of Representa- 

tives at Washington, which would take away from the legis- 
lature the power of electing senators, and, instead, would elect 
these by a direct vote of the people of the state. This would 
leave the legislature free to attend to the business of lawmak- 
ing, for which it exists. 


THE SENATE 


209 


229. The Senate has had Many Able Men. — The Senate has 
been the scene of activity for our greatest statesmen, — Webster, 
Calhoun, Clay, and Benton ; Seward, Sumner, Chase, and Wade ; 
Davis, Butler, Mason, and Crittenden, and other able men. 
North and South, have honored the Senate by their services. 
On the whole, it has shown itself throughout our his- 

^ Bryce’s 

tory to be a very honorable body. Mr. Bryce, a great reasons 

English writer on the American Commonwealth, has 

oenate is 

given several reasons why the American Senate has successful, 
proved so successful : — 

1. It is representative. Most upper houses in European 
legislatures are hereditary. 

2. It is convenient in size. This educates its members in 
their work, by giving them more to do, and it enables them to 
act together better. 

3 - It is a permanent body, and the term of office is long 
enough to attract ambitious and able men. 

4. It is not subject to rapid changes of opinion. It thus 
forms a bulwark against popular agitations. But it may also 
become too conservative and be an obstacle to progress. It 
may be too much under the control of large moneyed interests, 
and public opinion is now rather in favor of making the Senate 
a more popular body, by requiring that its members be elected 
directly by the people, that it may respond more quickly to the 
popular desires. 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

230 . Who may vote for Representatives. — As the Senate rep- 
resents the states, the Plouse of Representatives (usually called 
the House) represents the nation, or the people of the states, on 
the basis of numbers. The House is called the ‘‘ popular 
branch ” of Congress. 

The members of the House are elected every second year by 
the people of the several states. 

Those may vote for representatives (or for Presidential 
Electors [§ 212]) who are qualified by their state laws to vote 
for the most numerous branch of their state legislature. The 
qualifications for voters who elect the House of Representa- 
tives and the Electors are fixed by the laws of the respective 
states. In some states the right to vote is more restricted than 
in others, but generally the states provide for manhood suf- 
frage ” ; that is, each man may have one vote, regardless of 
property or educational qualifications. The states are left free 
to do as they please as to suffrage, except, according to the fif- 
teenth amendment, no state may deny the right of suffrage to 
any man ‘‘ on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude.” (For further suffrage provisions, see § 252.) 

231 . Qualifications of Representatives. — A representative is 
required, (i) to be twenty-five years of age, (2) to have been 
seven years a citizen of the United States, and (3) to be, when 
elected, an inhabitant of the state in which he is chosen. A 
congressman is not bound to reside in the district he represents, 
except by custom, or the law of the unwritten Constitution. It 
is now a fixed custom not to nominate men outside of the dis- 


210 



House of Representatives, Washington. 



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THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


2II 


trict ; so it might as well be required by law as far as the result 
is concerned. 

232. Apportionment of Representatives. Size of the House. — 

Representatives, like direct taxes, are apportioned among the 
states according to population. Every ten years a census is 
taken, and after each census Congress allots to each state its 
share of representatives. The state determines its own districts 
from which representatives are chosen. 

The Constitution provides that the representatives shall not 
exceed one for every thirty thousand of the population. The first 
Congress consisted of sixty-five members, allotted to 

j Huinbor 

the states by agreement in the Constitutional Conven- of represen- 
tion before the first census was taken. A large mem- 
bership was thought to be undesirable, and one bythepopu- 
member for thirty thousand people would have given of the 
a membership of only one hundred and thirty. With 
the growth of population it has been found necessary to in- 
crease the membership of the House, and now with three hun- 
dred and eighty-seven members it has only one for one hundred 
and ninety-seven thousand of the population. Each state must 
have at least one representative, though its population may not 
be equal to that of the average Congressional District. 

Sometimes congressmen are elected for the whole state 
because the legislature may not have had time to redistrict the 
state after a new apportionment has allotted the state additional 
representatives. These are called “ Representatives-at-Large.’' 

A vacancy in the House is filled by an election which is held 
upon the writ or call of the Governor. 

Congress meets at least once a year, on the first congress 
Monday in December. Extra sessions ” may be meets each 
called by the President when necessary. 

233. Officers of the House. — The principal officers of the 
House are the speaker, the clerk, the doorkeeper, the sergeant- 
at-arms, the postmaster, and the chaplain. 

The clerk (of the previous House) presides while a new 
House is being organized, or until a speaker is elected. He 


212 


AMERICAN EIISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


administers the oath of office to the members. He makes up 
the roll of the new House and puts on the roll those who hold 
the certificates of election, issued by their state governors. The 
House decides after it is organized whether others ought to be 
seated in the places of some who hold certificates of election 
and whom the clerk has placed on the roll. 

The clerk and his assistants keep a record of the House 
proceedings. The titles of the other officers of the House 
indicate their duties. (For the Speaker, see § 235 .) . 

The House elects its own officers, but the choice has already 
been made by a ‘‘caucus” of the majority party. This is a 

The House nieetiiig held a few days before Congress 

elects its meets. This meeting agrees, by a majority vote, on 
own officers. ^ officers for the House, and when the House 

meets to elect officers all the members of the majority party 
are expected to, and do, vote for this list. The choice of The 
caucus is thus ratified by the House. The election, then, is 
only a formal indorsement of the men already chosen by the 
caucus. The members of the minority party also hold a caucus 
and nominate a list of officers. They do not expect any of them 
to be elected, but the man whom they nominate for Speaker 
becomes their leader on the floor of the House. 

The salary of a member of Congress is five thousand dollars 
and mileage, i.e. his expenses for traveling. The members are 
also provided with clerks and are allowed one hundred and 
twenty-five dollars for stationery. 

234. Powers withheld from Congress. — The principal powers of 
Congress are recited in the Constitution (see Constitution, Article 
I). They are such as the nation ought to attend to, touching such 
matters as are of common interest to all the states. Certain- 
powers are also withheld (see Constitution, Article I, Section IX). 

The House may not participate with the Senate in confirming 
appointments or approving treaties; but, on the other hand, it 
has the exclusive right, {a) to start revenue bills, (^) to bring 
charges for impeachment, and {c) to elect the President in case 
the electoral college fails to elect. 


THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


213 


Members of both houses of Congress are exempt from arrest 
(except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace), and they may 
not be called to account for anything they may say in Privileges 
debate in either house. This is to assure them free- members, 
dom for their duties. Otherwise, on trumped-up charges, leading 
members might be detained from attending at most important 
times. 

235. The Speaker. — The Speaker is the most important 
officer of the House and one of the most interesting and power- 
ful officers in our system of government. In legislative and 
political importance he stands next to the President. His im- 
portance comes from three reasons : — 

1. His power of ‘‘recognition.” He “recognizes” members 
who rise to speak or make motions ; that is, he gives the floor 
to the member whom he wishes to make a certain _ 

The power 

motion or promote certain business. It does not of “recogni- 
matter whether some other member rises first and 
says, “ Mr. Speaker,” the Speaker will recognize the member 
with whom he has already made an arrangement. The Speaker 
can thus determine what business the House will take up and 
how slowly or rapidly it will be attended to. 

2. He directs the business of the House also by his position 
as chairman of the Committee on Rules. This is the “ steering 
committee” of the House, the committee that lays jyjemberof 
out its programme, directs its order of business, deter- Committee 
mines what measures shall be taken up next, and how 

long they shall be discussed. This committee can bring in a 
new rule for the House to adopt at any time, closing or 
limiting debate, setting a time for a vote, and preventing fili- 
bustering. Thus the House has lodged in a few of its members 
the control of its action and business. The Speaker is the most 
important member of this committee. 

3. The Speaker appoints the committees of the House. By 
this means he is able very largely to control legislation. Every 
bill, before it can pass the House, is referred to its proper com- 
mittee. The committee may report favorably on the measure 


214 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


and secure its passage, or it may smother,” or stifle, the meas- 
ure in the committee, and no more will be heard of it. No bill 
The Speaker can be passed by the House without being approved 
appoints the committee. The Speaker makes up the com- 

commit- ^ ^ ^ 

tees. mittees to suit his own views and to promote his party 

policy. If he is opposed to legislation on a certain subject, he 
can make up such a committee on that subject as will be cer- 
tain to bury all proposed bills on that line ; on the other hand, 
if he favors such legislation, he can make up a committee fa- 
vorable to his views. The Speaker is thus the most powerful 
legislative officer in our government. 

The Speaker may also be powerful in his parliamentary rul- 
ings. He may rule the House with a high hand or with a 
looser rein. Speaker Reed gave a memorable ruling on the 
quorum in 1890. The Constitution says “a majority of each 
house shall constitute a quorum to do business.” Before 1890 
the quorum had always been determined in the House by roll 
call. If a majority did not answer to a roll call on a vote, the 
House acted as if a quorum were not present and it could not 
pass any measure. The minority, wishing to prevent legislation, 
could ''break a quorum” by refusing to vote. If they went 
away, the sergeant-at-arms might be sent after them to compel 
them to come back ; but no one could make them vote after 

The Speaker were brought back. Speaker Reed directed the 
counts the clerk to count " as present but not voting ” certain 
quorum. members whom he saw in the House. In this way 
he " made a quorum ” and declared measures passed that other- 
wise could not have been passed. His ruling has been followed 
by subsequent houses. Filibustering by breaking the quorum is 
now prevented. Filibustering consists of making long speeches 
and all kinds of motions merely to delay the business of the 
House and prevent legislation. 

236. The Committee System. — There are between fifty and 
sixty committees of the House. Some of the most important of 
these are the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 
on Appropriations, on Foreign Affairs, on Military Affairs, on 


THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


215 


Naval Affairs, on Post Offices and Post Roads, on Indian 
Affairs, on Invalid Pensions. The chairman of each of the 
important committees is one of the leading members of the 
House, and as legislation is really decided upon in committee 
the chairman holds an important place. He is expected to 
explain and defend the measures of his committee on the floor 
of the House. A committee generally considers a bill in secret, 
though opponents and advocates of a measure may be heard 
before the committee. It is not always known how xhe commit- 

members vote in the committee, and it is, therefore, practi- 

4- 4. c -u-iv • callydeter- 

not easy to hx responsibility upon any one m particu- mines the 

lar for the committee’s conduct. Most bills are buried t^teof abiii. 
in committees, as they ought to be ; the bills are never reported 
back to the House. If a committee is smothering a good bill 
by neglecting to report upon it, the House may order the com- 
mittee to report, or it may transfer the measure to another com- 
mittee, although this method of controlling a committee is not 
easy to apply, for the chairmen will generally stand by one 
another in trying to control their committees’ business. 

The Ways and Means Committee is the most important, and 
its chairman is usually the floor leader. It has charge of raising 
the revenues of the government. The tariff bills are committee 
prepared by this committee, or more properly by the 0^ Ways and 
members of the committee belonging to the majority mostimpor- 
party. 

The Appropriations Committee is the next most important in 
the House. It has charge of appropriating the money to pay 
the expenses of all the departments of the govern- 
ment, and many millions of dollars are carried by the mitteeon 
great appropriations which somebody must inspect 
very closely. A watch dog of the treasury” has a second in 
good opportunity on this committee to prevent 
steals ” and jobs ” from creeping into these long appropria- 
tion bills. 

237. The President may influence Congress in Various Ways. 

— While the Executive and Legislative departments were in- 


2i6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


tended to be kept separate from one another, neither to be 
allowed to control the other, they are necessarily brought into 
mutual relationship and each has considerable influence over 
the other. 

The President may influence Congress by his annual message, 
by calling Congress into extra session, by his veto, and by com- 
municating with the Congressional committees, and especially 
by the distribution of important offices. The President may 
give places to congressmen, or their friends, if they consent to 
support his policy in Congress. This is mere bribery ; it is 
buying votes with offices. This would lead a congressman to 
vote, not according to his own judgment, nor the merits of a bill, 
nor the interests of the country, but according to the selfish 
interests of himself or his friends. It was in this way English 
kings used to control Parliament, — by the places and favors 
they had to bestow. A President who tried to control Congress 
in this way would deserve impeachment and disgrace. The 
people cannot be too careful in guarding against such an abuse 
of power by the officers whom they elect. 

238 . How Congress may influence the President. — Congress 
may influence the President, (i ) by a resolution censuring him or 
calling upon him to pursue a certain course of conduct; (2) by 
an investigating committee, to inquire into the action of some 
of the departments; (3) by refusing legislation which the Presi- 
dent desires or by bills which restrict the President’s action ; (4) 
by impeachment ; and (5) by withholding appropriations which 
the President may ask for. It is better for the President and 
Congress to act in harmony, but many times they do not do 
so, as they may be of different parties or desire different 
policies. • 




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Supreme Court Chamber, Washington. 




CHAPTER XVIII 


THE JUDICIARY 

239. Origin of the Judiciary. — Under the Old Confederation 
there was no national judiciary. Lawsuits were left to the 
states, and disputes between states were settled by a committee of 
Congress. The Judiciary, the third department of the new 
government, has grown since 1789, in the extent of its opera- 
tions, more than any other department, and it has been very 
influential in establishing nationality and a stronger union. 

240. Extent of the Judicial Power. Tenure of Office. — The 
judicial power of the United States is vested in a Supreme 
Court and in such lower courts as Congress may establish from 
time to time. The small states did not want lower courts estab- 
lished, because they thought the national courts would have so 
little to do that one Supreme Court would be enough ; it was 
supposed that United States courts would not have original 
jurisdiction, or the first trial, in law cases, but would hear only 
such cases as were appealed from state judges, after the cases 

# 

had been tried once. This would have made the Supreme Court 
only an ‘^appellate court.” 

The judges, both of the Supreme and lower courts, hold their 
offices during good behavior ; and their pay cannot be dimin- 
ished during their continuance in office. This is to make them 
independent in their decisions. 

241. The Judiciary Act, 1789 . — The Judiciary Act of Sep- 
tember 24, 1789, is one of the most important in our history. 
Its author was Oliver Ellsworth, a member of the Constitutional 
Convention, and the act made up our judiciary practically as it 
is to-day. By the act of 1789 the Supreme Court numbered six. 
There are now nine members of the Court, a Chief Justice, with 


217 


2i8 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 




a salary of $13,000, and eight associate justices, with salaries 
of $12,500 each. 

The justices are appointed by the President and confirmed 
by the Senate, and they can be removed only by impeach- 
ment. 

There are nine circuit courts and more than eighty district 
Minor courts of the United States; so the national law is 

courts. applied and enforced in all parts of the land. There 

is also a Court of Claims to try claims of citizens against the 
government. 

242 . Kinds of Cases tried in the United States Courts. — The 
following kinds of cases may be tried in the United States 
courts : — 

1. Those to which the Constitution and laws of the United 
States apply. 

2. Cases affecting ambas.sadors, public ministers, and consuls, 
or the representatives of other nations in our country. 

3. Cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, like prize 
cases and cases relating to navigation. 

4. Controversies to which the United States may be a party. 

5. Controversies between two or more states ; between citizens 
of different states ; between citizens of the same state claiming 
lands by grants of different states; between a state, or its citizens, 
and a foreign state, or its citizens. 

243 . The Eleventh Amendment adopted. — Before the eleventh 
amendment was adopted (1794), a state might be sued by a citi- 
zen of another state. Since it violated the dignity and independ- 
ence of a state to allow it to be brought into court like a private 
defendant, the eleventh amendment was adopted, which provides 
that the judicial power of the United States shall not extend 
to any suit against a state commenced by a citizen of another 
state. 

If a national law applies to a case, it prevails against any 
state law, and whether or not the national law applies is deter- 
mined by the national courts. Thus the nation, through its 
courts, decides upon the extent of its own powers^ 


THE JUDICIARY 


219 


244. The Federal Marshal. — The federal marshal is the 
sheriff of the court. He executes the court’s writs, orders, and 
judgments. He may call citizens near by (the posse comitatics) to 
his aid, and if that is not sufficient he may apply to the gov- 
ernment at Washington for troops. If the President refuses 
the necessary force, the court is powerless to execute its de- 
crees. 

245. The District Attorney. — The United States district 
attorney is the federal prosecutor. He begins proceedings 
against persons violating national law. The district attorney 
and the marshal are both under the direction of the Attorney- 
General of the United States, the head of the Department of 
Justice. Through these officers national authority covers the 
whole territory of the union. 

246. The Judicial Power to declare an Act Unconstitutional. — 

From a political point of view the most important power of the 
Judiciary is its power to declare an act unconstitutional. This 
power applies not only to the acts of Congress, but to the acts 
of any of the state legislatures. An act of a legislature that is 
unconstitutional is no law at all ; it is as if it had never been, 
and no one can be punished for refusing to obey it. This 
power of declaring an act unconstitutional is not conferred by 
the Constitution, and when it was first exercised it caused some 
surprise and alarm. Jefferson and the states’ rights party were 
afraid the Supreme Court would become too powerful if it were 
allowed in this way to overrule Congress and the state legisla- 
tures. Jefferson admitted that unconstitutional laws did not 
bind the people, but he did not like to have a national court 
decide on the limits of national authority. He said that each 
state should decide when the Constitution had been violated 
and what should be done about it; or the people of the union 
in convention assembled should pass on the matter. Now, 
however, the Supreme Court has been accepted by all as a fair 
umpire to settle the limits of power between the state and the 
nation. 

The power to declare an act unconstitutional is not exercised 


220 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The 

Supreme 
Court can 
declare an 
act null and 
void. An 
English 
court can- 
not. 


by the courts of other countries ; it is distinctly American. In 
England there is no such thing as an invalid act of 
Parliament. Parliament is supreme, and no court 
would presume to set one of its acts aside. Whatever 
law Parliament passes is constitutional, and the courts 
will accept and apply it. If an English judge finds 
two laws conflicting, he merely looks at the date of 
each, and the last law prevails. All statutes are of equal 
authority. There is no written constitution to which. 
Our Const!- as a higher fundamental law, all statutes, or acts of 
written. the legislature, must conform. But in America the 
Constitution is written. It is not on the level of an 
ordinary legislative act, and it cannot be changed at the will of 
the legislature ; but it is a supreme and fundamental law, and 
all departments of the government must obey it and conform 
their acts to it. An act of Congress contrary to the Constitution 
is not law ; it is null and void. This theory is attached to a 
written constitution, and is one of the fundamental principles of 
our society. The court is in duty bound to set aside an act of 
Congress that is contrary to the Constitution. 

This does not mean that the Judicial Department is superior 
to the Legislative Department, but only that the fundamental 
law which the people have established is superior to both. The 
conflict is between two kinds of law, and the court must say 
what the law is and decide every case in harmony with the 
supreme law of the land. 

247. Four Kinds of American Law. — There are four kinds of 
law in America : — 

1. The federal constitution. 

2. Federal statutes. 

3. State constitutions. 

4. State statutes. 

If two laws conflict, the higher law prevails and the lower must 
give way. The court in interpreting the Constitution merely 
shows what the higher law requires and wherein the lower law 
is contrary to it. 


THE JUDICIARY 


221 


The Supreme Court will not express an opinion about a pro- 
posed law or advise the Executive about the constitutionality 
of a law. It waits for a law case to come before it, and then 
passes judgment on any law that may be brought into question. 
Thus the court does not go to meet a case, but waits for the 
case to come to it. 

. 248 . The Constitution has grown by Amendments, Interpreta- 
tion, and Construction. — It was expected that our Constitution 
would grow chiefly by amendments^ to be made in two ways : — 

1. Congress may by a two-thirds vote of each house propose 
an amendment. If this be ratifled by the legislatures, or con- 
ventions, of three fourths of 
the states, it becomes a part 
of the Constitution. Fifteen 
amendments have been ob- 
tained in this way. 

2. The other method of 
amendment is that Congress, 
upon the application of the 
legislatures of two thirds of 
the states, shall call a conven- 
tion for proposing amendments, 
these proposals to be valid 
when ratified by the legisla- 
tures, or conventions, of three 
fourths of the states. No 
amendment has ever been ob- 
tained by this method. 

The Constitution has also 
grown by interpretation and 
construction. John Marshall, 
the great Chief Justice from 
i8oi to 1835, did much to es- 
tablish and enlarge the powers of the national government by 
his great decisions and by the principles of construction which 
he laid down. He said that the powers of the national govern- 



JoHN Marshall. 

“The greatest American jurist” was 
born in Virginia in 1755 and died in 
Philadelphia in 1835. edu- 

cated man, but not a college graduate. 
He became a lawyer, was made Secretary 
of State, and finally Chief Justice in 1801. 
He held this office until the time of his 
death. He wrote a “ History of the 
Colonies ” and a “ Life of Washington.” 



/ 


222 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

meat were limited, and these limits must not be passed ; but 
when once the grant of power is proved, then any reasonable 
means may be used by Congress to carry out this power. Mar- 
shall would have the nation exercise only constitutional powers, 
but he would have it exercise liberal construction in the use of 
these powers. The system of courts and the construction of 
the Constitution which Marshall did so much to establish have 
had great influence in saving the Constitution from the same 
complete and disheartening failure into which the Articles of 
The Confederation had fallen. Probably no institution in 

Supreme history has done more to promote and sustain 

Court is held . ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

in high American nationality than has the Supreme Court. 

honor. respect of all nations, the confidence of all 

parties. In dignity, ability, and impartial fairness it receives 

the approval of the people. It is one of the bulwarks of the 

American system of government. 




CHAPTER XIX 


THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


249. Local Self-government. — We have seen in our study 
of the beginnings of the union how the people were governed 
almost entirely by the states. Local self-government in the 
states is still the larger part of our government. In the multi- 
tude of affairs that government deals with, the states are still 
more important than the nation ; they touch the citizen a hun- 
dred times where the nation touches him once. Most of our 
laws are made at our state capitals, not at Washing- . 

^ ^ The impor- 

ton. Treason, piracy, counterfeiting, smuggling, tance of the 

offenses against the postal laws and land laws and 
internal revenue laws, violations of patents and copyrights, and 
interfering with interstate commerce, — these are almost all the 
crimes that can be committed against the United States govern- 
ment. 

On the other hand, the state touches the citizen in so many 
ways that they are too numerous to mention. It collects his 
personal and property tax, registers his birth and his citizen 
death, appoints his guardian, provides for his inheri- is governed 
tance, pays for his schooling, regulates his marriage, tLn^^ 
grants him divorce, declares him a bankrupt, licenses by the 
his trade, makes him pay his debts, tries him for all 
kinds of civil and criminal misconduct. The state laws preserve 
the peace ; regulate the police ; provide for the poor ; control 
water, gas, and railway franchises ; establish insane asylums, 
blind asylums, reform schools, and penitentiaries ; take care of 
the highways ; guard the public health ; and protect the citizen 
against fraud, nuisance, riot, theft, burglary, gambling, robbery, 
slander, incendiarism, violence, and murder. With all these 


223 


224 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


matters the national government has nothing to do. Each state 
provides a system of local self-government in counties, cities, 
townships, and school districts, with a system of local and state 
taxation. The people’s interests, taxes, and welfare are affected 
far more by this local government, and by these civil and 
criminal laws, than by acts of the national government at 
Washington. 

250. The State Constitution is framed by the People of the 
State. — The states are supreme in all these matters. Congress 
permits a new state, or the people of a territory, to form a new 
constitution, and it may influence the character of a state con- 
stitution by imposing conditions upon the admission of the 
state ; but the people of a state make their own constitution, and 
the powers to be exercised under it are derived from the people 
of the state, not from the general government. A state may 
afterward amend its constitution without asking Congress. 
Its constitution is adopted by a convention of the state, elected 
for that purpose. After being framed by the convention, the 
constitution is, as a rule, submitted to the people of the state for 
ratification or rejection. If rejected, a new constitution is formed 
by the convention ; if ratified, the constitution is proclaimed by 
the governor or legislature. 

In amending a state constitution the legislature makes the 
beginning. The amendment must be made according to the 

Amending provisions of the constitution. It will, perhaps, re- 
the state quire that the proposed amendment shall pass the 
constitution, legislature by a two-thirds majority, or by a majority 

in two successive legislatures, and then be submitted to the peo- 
ple for approval. Or, the legislature may call a new convention 
to revise the constitution, or make a new one, to be submitted 
to the people. 

251. Departments of the State Government. — Each state has 
the three separate departments in its government, — Legislative, 
Executive, and Judicial. 

The Legislature makes the laws. Every state has two houses 
in its legislature, a senate and an assembly, or a house of repre- 


THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


225 


sentatives. The state senators and representatives are usually 
apportioned among the several counties of the state 

in proportion to population. They are usually re- legislature 
quired to live in the districts which they represent. 

The state legislatures vary greatly in numbers, from fifty-five 
in the whole legislature of Delaware, to three hundred twenty-one 
in the house of representatives in New Hampshire. Their pay 
is generally from $4.00 to $8.00 a day and mileage, though in 
New York a member has ^1500 a year. 

The Executive Department of a state consists of the governor 
and minor executive officers, such as the lieutenant-governor, 
the secretary of state, the auditor of state, the Executive 
treasurer of state, the attorney-general, the super- i^epartment. 
intendent of public instruction, the board of tax commission- 
ers, benevolent boards, etc. The governor is the chief executive. 
The subordinate state officers are elected directly by the people 
and hold their offices independent of the governor. They are 
not like a cabinet or council of advisers to the governor, and he 
cannot remove them, except as the law provides. The legisla- 
ture determines the public policy of the state, and each executive 
officer has his duties defined by law. 

It is the governor’s duty to see that the laws of the state are 
faithfully executed ; to convene the legislature when occasion 
requires ; to recommend desirable legislation ; to The state 
make appointments required by law ; to act as com- governor, 
mander of the state militia, and in this capacity to repel invasion 
and suppress riot, rebellion, and insurrection. The governors 
have the veto in nearly all the states, though in some states 
the governor’s veto maybe overridden by a bare majority of the 
legislature. 


The lieutenant-governor corresponds to the Vice President. 
He presides over the state senate, and on the death r^Yieiieu- 

or retirement of the governor he succeeds to the tenant-gov- 
1 • 'T'l 1 • 1 1 j • ©mor* 

governorship. These are his only duties. 

Each state has a judiciary. There are justices of the peace, 
county courts, or circuit courts, and supreme courts. In 


226 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


earlier days the judges were appointed by the governor or 
elected by the legislature ; but now, in most of the states, they 
The state 2,re elected directly by the people. Formerly, the 

judiciary. judges were chosen to serve for life, or during good 

behavior, but now the term is for a period of years, varying 
from two years in Vermont to twenty-one years in Pennsyl- 
vania. They can be removed only by impeachment, or by an 
address requesting their removal presented to the governor by 
both houses of the legislature or in other ways provided. 

It is the duty of the judge to see that the law is explained and 
applied in his court. It is his duty to interpret the state con- 
stitution, and if an act of the legislature is not in harmony with 
the constitution, it is the court’s place to declare the act 
null and void. The state judge is sworn to support the Consti- 
tution of the United States as well as of the state, and it may be 
his right and duty to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional, 
although his decision may be reversed by a national court. 

252 . The State regulates the Suffrage. — Suffrage is regulated 
by the state. Who may vote for Presidential electors or repre- 
sentatives depends on the laws of the state (§ 230). Voting is not 
a right of citizenship. It is a privilege conferred by the state 
on those whom it considers fit. Many citizens are voters ; some 
voters are not citizens. Women and children are, usually, not 
voters ; they are, of course, citizens. Congress makes our nat- 
uralization laws, and while the states cannot make aliens into 
citizens they may make voters out of them. In Indiana a foreigner 
is required to live but one year in the state to become a voter ; 
he must live five years in the United States in order to become a 
naturalized citizen. He must, however, declare his intention of 
becoming a citizen of the United States before he can vote. In 
four of the Western states — Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and 
Utah — women are allowed to vote. 

253 . Citizenship and the Fourteenth Amendment. — Citizenship 
is, also, chiefly a state matter. The fourteenth amendment 
gave the first definition of American citizenship: ‘‘All persons 
born or naturalized within the United States, and subject to the 


THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


227 


jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the 
state wherein they reside ; ” nor shall any state deprive any 
person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.’' 
National citizenship is now defined, and the states are bound to 
give all American citizens equal protection of the laws. The 
state is still the guardian and protector of the citizen in his 
right to life, liberty, property, and a fair trial. The people value 
these rights, and they will understand that the rights of the 
states and their good government, in counties, cities, and town- 
ships, are matters of the highest importance. 

It has been said that it is more important to the citizen to see 
to it that his county has a good Commissioner or his Township 
a good Trustee than that the United States should . 

o Importance 

have a good President. The County Commissioner, of local gov- 
the Township Trustee, the City Councilman, the 
Mayor, the County Treasurer, — these and other local officers 
have much more influence over the citizen’s immediate interests 
than either the President or Congress. It is the work of the 
local government and its officers to provide good schools, to 
make good roads, to take care of the poor, to conduct elec- 
tions, to guard the public health, to provide water and light for 
the city, to restrain lawlessness, gambling, and other vice, and 
to provide for all local improvements and progress. These are 
the most important matters in the life of the people, and the 
President and Congress at Washington can have very little to 
do with any of them. If every man sweeps in front of his own 
dooryard, the city will be clean. So if the people can govern 
themselves well in every city and township in the land, the nation 
will be well taken care of. But if the people have not enough 
force, intelligence, and patriotism to provide for themselves good 
local officers for the sake of honest and decent government at 
home, they will not be able to do very much toward the good 
government of the nation at large. 


CHAPTER XX 


THE TERRITORIES 


254 . Congress governs the Territories. — We have seen from 
our history how the original territories came into the possession 
of the United States (§ 198). Our later history will tell how 
other territory was acquired. 

Congress has power to govern the territories. In organizing 
and governing the territories, Congress has always had in view 
their admission as states. To organize a territory is to describe 
its boundaries and to provide a government for it. The organiz- 
ing act of Congress is the constitution for the territory ; it names 
the territorial officers and their duties, and lays down the princi- 
ples for the territorial legislature to go by. The Ordinance of 
1787 was the organizing act for the Northwest Territory, and it 
served as a constitution until the states made new consti- 
tutions, upon their admission to the union. This constitution of 
a territory (the organizing act) is not made by the people of .the 
territory as the constitution of a state is, but it comes from Con- 
gress, and Congress may change it at will. 

255 . Departments. — The government of an organized terri- 
tory provides for three departments : — 

1. The Executive consists of the governor and other adminis- 

The terri- trative officers. These are appointed by the Presi- 

toriai exec- dent for a term of four years. It is the governor’s 
duty to see that the laws of the United States and of 
the territory are faithfully executed. He usually has a veto on 
the acts of the territorial legislature. 

2. The territorial legislature is composed of a senate and a 

• 

house of representatives. Each house is elected by the voters 
of the territory for a term of two years. The legislative power 
of a territory is almost as extensive as that of a state, extending 

228 


THE TERRITORIES 


229 


to all laws ‘'not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of 
the United States.” Congress may at any time mod- -phetem 
ify or set aside any territorial law, and it may (by toriaiiegis- 
amending the organizing act) limit to any extent the 
legislative power of the territory. 

3 . The territorial Judiciary consists of three or more judges 
appointed for a term of four years by the President, with the con- 
sent of the senate, together with the United States dis- 
trict attorney and a United States marshal. They are toriai judi- 
not appointed for life or good behavior, as the fed- 
eral judges are, but they may be removed by the President. 

256. The Territories and National Elections. — Territories do 
not take part in Presidential elections, nor do they send senators 
to Congress. They do not take part in governing the United 
States. Each territory may send a delegate to the national 
House of Representatives and he may speak, introduce, and ex- 
plain measures amd make motions, but he may not vote. It is 
only when the territory becomes a state that its representatives 
take part in passing laws for the United States. How a territory 
becomes a state is indicated repeatedly in the history that follows. 

257. The Constitution does not extend to the Island Possessions. 
— Our “insular possessions” — Porto Rico, the Philippines, 
Guam, and some minor islands — are governed under the absolute 
power of Congress. The Constitution does not apply to them. 
Its provisions might have been extended to islands by the treaty 
by which they were acquired, or the Constitution may at any 
time be extended by a resolution of Congress ; but until this is 
done Congress is not bound by the limitations of the Consti- 
tution in the government of the islands. The people of the 
islands must rely for the protection of their rights on our good 
disposition, on our political habits and precedents, on the Ameri- 
can spirit and love of liberty, on the fundamental principles on 
which the nation was founded and by which it is guided. These 
will lead us to give, as soon as may be, constitutional rights and 
liberty to Porto Rico and the Philippines and to all peoples who 
may ever come under the protection of our flag. 


CHAPTER XXI 


THE INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. — THE SUPREM- 
ACY OF THE FEDERALIST PARTY 

258 . The Old Government dead, March 2, 1789. — We have 
seen the way in which the Constitution was made in the Phila- 
delphia Convention of 1787; we have also studied the kind of 
government which was created ; it now remains for us to note 
the method by which the new form of government was put into 
operation. 

Although no meetings had been held since the fall of 1788, 
the Congress of the Confederation did not go out of existence 
until the 2d of March, 1789. On the afternoon of the 3d 
the battery guns in New York City fired a farewell salute to the 
old form of government. At dawn on the following day the 
same guns fired a salute to the new government, and the bells 
of the city churches rang out in honor of the new era. New 
York had been chosen as the seat of the new government, and 
the 4th of March was the time appointed for the inauguration 
of the President; yet it was found to be impossible to put the 
new Constitution into operation on that day, because neither 
house of Congress had a quorum for the transaction of busi- 
ness. It was well known, of course, that Washington had 
been chosen President and John Adams Vice President, but the 
electoral votes could not be officially counted except in the pres- 
ence of a majority of each house. Only eight of the twenty-two 
senators were present and thirteen of the fifty-nine representa- 
tives. These were compelled to await the coming of their tardy 
associates. 

It will be remembered that the Constitution was to go into 


230 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


231 


effect as soon as ratified by nine states. It will also be remem- 
bered that New Hampshire, the ninth state, ratified on the 
2 1 St of June, 1788. Congress was notified of that fact a 
few days later, but was rather slow in making the necessary 
preparations for the election of President, Vice President, sen- 
ators, and representatives. Things moved slowly in those 
days. The roads were poor and the mails crept along at a 
snail’s pace ; so, perhaps, it is not to be wondered at that every- 
thing was not ready at the appointed time, March 4. 

259 . The Election of the President. — It might be well at this 
time to say a word about the election of President and Vice 
President. No conventions were held to nominate candidates 
for these offices. There was need of none — particularly in so 
far as the Presidency was concerned. The name of Washing- 
ton was upon every tongue. He seemed again to be the one 
indispensable man. He had fought in the French and Indian 
War ; he had guided the affairs of the Revolution ; he had pre- 
sided over the Constitutional Convention ; and now he was 
looked upon by the common consent of the nation as the best 
man to be at the head of the new form of government. 


For the Vice Presidency it was soon seen that John Adams 
was the favored man. There was much to be said in his behalf. 
Adams had shown himself to be an honest, able, and 
fearless champion of popular government. Jefferson john^^° 
had called him the Colossus of the Debate ” when Adams were 
the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and he president 
was a valiant defender of the new Constitution. John and Vice 

*' Pj-0gjd0nt. 

Hancock, Samuel Adams, and General Knox, all of 
Massachusetts, were mentioned in connection with the office, but 
there was a serious objection in each case. 

When the ballots were counted it was found that the choice 
of Washington was unanimous; and that John Adams, having 
secured the next highest number of votes, was chosen Vice 
President. There were some Anti-federalists still left, and 
these favored George Clinton of New York. Clinton, however, 
received but three votes. 


232 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


260. The New Congress. — It was also necessary to elect a 
new Congress ; and this election, for reasons explained above, 
consumed considerable time. Finally, on the ist of April, there 
was found to be a quorum of the House of Representatives 
present in New York, and that branch of the legislature was 
organized, with Frederick A. Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as 
Speaker. This first House of Representatives contained many 
„ notable men. Tames Madison, the ‘‘Father of the 
was organ- Constitution,” was the leader of the House. After 

and a vigorous campaign he had defeated James Monroe, 

Senate also destined to be a President of the United States. 

April 6. Elbridge Gerry was a member, and the eloquent Fisher 

Ames had won a seat by defeating Samuel Adams, the “ Father 
of the Revolution.” 

On the 6th of April the Senate was organized. Among its 
members were many familiar faces : Robert Morris, Richard 
Henry Lee, Oliver Ellsworth, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton 
(Maryland) — destined to be the last survivor of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence — had seats in the first Senate. 

The vote of the electoral college was also counted on the 
6th of April, and George Washington and John Adams were 
officially declared elected President and Vice President, respec- 
tively. On the following day a messenger set out for Mount 
Vernon to notify Washington of his election, and a few days 
later the President-elect started for New York to assume the 
duties of his new office. He left his quiet country home, on 
the banks of the Potomac, with great reluctance. His rugged, 
stately figure, clad in buff and blue, seemed equal to any task, 
yet Washington was depressed by the weight of the responsi- 
bility which had fallen upon him. 


Washington’s Administrations, 1789-1797 
« 

261. Washington was inaugurated April 30 , 1789 . — On the 

30th of April Washington took the oath of office in the presence 
of an immense throng of people. The day was a notable one in 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


233 


New York. In the forenoon services were held in the churches, 
and at twelve o’clock Washington went to Federal Hall and took 
the oath of office. When this was done Chancellor Livingston, 
who administered the oath, stepped forward and cried out, “Long 
live George Washington, President of the United States !” This 



Federal Hall, New York City. 

The old City Hall, New York, once occupied by the Continental Con- 
gress, was repaired and remodeled at the expense of wealthy citizens of 
New York for the accommodation of the new national government, 1789. 
The name “ Federal Hall ” was given to it at that time. It was the seat 
of the government until the latter’s removal to Philadelphia in 1790. 


was the signal for a mighty shout from thousands of throats. 
The flag was run up and the Battery guns sounded the first salute. 

In his inaugural address he tried to impress upon Congress 
the serious nature of the work upon which they were entering. 
He also said that he wished no pay for his services as President 
aside from his necessary expenses. 

262. Jefferson, Hamilton, Knox, and Randolph were the First 
Cabinet. — One of Washington’s first duties was to appoint the 
members of his Cabinet, or advisory body. The President’s 



234 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Cabinet now contains nine members. Each member is at the 
head of a great department of the government, and in addition 
to this gives advice to the President on important matters. 
Washington’s first Cabinet contained four members. Thomas 
Jefferson, the famous author of the Declaration of Independence, 
was made Secretary of State. Alexander Hamilton, probably 
the most brilliant statesman in American history, was made 
Secretary of the Treasury. It was Hamilton, as we shall see 
later, who put the financial affairs of the country on a sound 
basis. His task was a difficult and an important one, and it is 
not too much to say that the very life of the republic depended 
upon the successful management of the Treasury Department. 
Henry Knox, a distinguished soldier of the Revolution, was 
appointed to take charge of the War Department. Knox was 
able, honest, and loyal, and added strength to the new Cabinet. 
Edmund Randolph, the proposer of the “ Virginia Plan ” in the 
Constitutional Convention, was made Attorney-General, and 
also had a seat in the Cabinet. 

All of these men were comparatively young. Hamilton was 
thirty-two; Randolph, thirty-six ; Knox, thirty-nine ; and Jeffer- 
son, forty-six ; yet all were well known on both sides of the 
Atlantic. Taken as a body, this first Presidential Cabinet has 
never been excelled in ability. 

263. John Jay was the first Chief Justice of the United States. 

— We have noticed that the House of Representatives was 
organized on the ist of April and the Senate on the 6th, and 
that the President was inaugurated on the 30th of the same 
month. Thus the Executive and Legislative departments of the 
government were in working order. It now only remained to 
organize the Judiciary to make the government complete. This 
was soon done. John Jay of New York was the first Chief Jus- 
tice of the United States. Jay was a man of sterling integrity 
and lofty character. It has been well said that the ermine rested 
upon a man as pure and spotless as itself when it fell upon the 
shoulders of John Jay. James Wilson of Pennsylvania, a strong 
defender of the Constitution, was one of the associate justices. 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


235 



U 


more 


In making the above appointments Washington did his work 
well. He selected men of honesty, ability, and repu- Washington 
tation. He remarked at the time that he wanted men appointed 

r 1 • 1 to 

of this character, not only because they were more office, 
likely to be serviceable, but because the public” would 
readily trust them.” 

The three great departments 
of the government were now or- 
ganized and ready for the trans- 
action of business. 

264. Hamilton and the Finances. 

— One of the first, and certainly 
one of the most important, duties 
of the new government was to 
reconstruct the financial system. 

This part of the work fell to 
Hamilton, as Secretary of the 
Treasury, and he accomplished 
his task in such a way as to place 

his name at the head of the list of Alexander Hamilton. 


American financiers. Hamilton’s 
Hamilton’s financial financial 

plan was 

plan was made up ot five made up of 
parts: i. He wished to firepans. 

obtain revenue from tariff duties 
levied upon goods coming into 
the ports of the United States 
from foreign countries. A tariff 
bill, introduced by Mad- i. The 
ison, had been passed 
on July 4, 1789, but this did not yield a sufficient revenue and 
was revised at the suggestion of Hamilton. 

2. He urged Congress to levy an excise tax, or a tax 2. The 
upon alcoholic liquors distilled in the United States, excise. 

3. Probably the most important part of Hamilton’s plan 
was that which provided for the payment of the national debt. 


The ablest financier in American 
history was born in the West Indies 
in 1757. He was a remarkably bril- 
liant youth and began to make 
patriotic orations at seventeen. Was 
a student at King’s College (now 
Columbia University) and later be- 
came a lawyer. He was a strong 
advocate of the Constitution, and 
with Madison and Jay wrote the 
essays in the “Federalist,” urging 
the acceptance of the new form 
of government. He was killed by 
Aaron Burr in a duel in 1804. 


236 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Hamilton insisted that the debts of the United States, both for- 
eign and domestic, should be paid at their full face value. This 
declaration was startling to many. When American credit had 
fallen so low, bonds and other securities were sold at 
of ^ cents on the dollar. It thus seemed to many 

national that it would be an unnecessary waste of money to 
redeem such securities at their face value. It was 
said that it would simply be putting money into the pockets of 
speculators. Hamilton, however, said that the United States 
had pledged its faith to the payment of the debt in full, and 
that it would be dishonest to pay anything less than the face 
value. Fortunately, Hamilton succeeded in getting Congress to 
agree with him, and the national honor was upheld and national 
credit soon restored. 

4. Hamilton also proposed that the debts of the various 
states should be paid by the general government. He said 
4 Payment these debts had been contracted for the purpose 

of carrying on the Revolution, and that the money 
had been spent for the common defense. For this 
reason, he argued, the debts should be paid out of the national 
treasury. This part of the plan met with much opposition. It 
was said that some of the states had already paid the greater 
part of their indebtedness and should not be compelled to help 
their neighbors to pay theirs. Again it was said that some 
states raised money for the Revolution by levying taxes instead 
of by borrowing money, and that it would be unjust to ask 
these states to pay additional debts. We shall see later that 
Congress agreed to assume a part of the state debts, but not all. 

5. The last part of Hamilton’s plan provided for the establish- 
ment of a national bank somewhat similar to the Bank of 

England. This bank was to be connected with the 
government and was to aid the government in certain 
financial matters. The bill establishing the bank 
passed both houses of Congress after strenuous opposition, and 
was signed by President Washington. 

265. The Permanent Seat of the Government was located on the 


of state 
debts. 


5. The 

National 

Bank. 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


237 


Potomac River. — It will be remembered that the permanent 
seat of the government had not been yet located. The Consti- 
tution provided that a piece of land, not exceeding ten miles 
square, should be set aside for this purpose, but it was not easy 
to fix the location. Both the North and the South wanted it, 
and Philadelphia wished to be chosen as the temporary seat. 
When Hamilton saw that his plan for the assumption of the 
state debts was likely to fail, he agreed with Jefferson that he 
would favor the location of the capital on the Potomac River in 
case Jefferson would favor his plan for the assuming of the state 
debts. It was so done. The temporary capital was located at 
Philadelphia for ten years, the permanent capital was located on 
the Potomac, and state debts to the amount of $21,500,000^ 
were assumed by the national government. 

266 . Political Parties and Foreign Affairs. — It will help us to 
understand some of the great questions of Washington’s admin- 
istration if we note the differences between the two great politi- 
cal parties. Since party matters and foreign affairs were very 
closely connected, it will be convenient to study the two subjects 
together. 

Before the Revolution the political parties in America were 
the same as those in England, — the Whigs and the Tories. 
The Whigs, for the most part, were in favor of the 
Revolution, while the Tories were in sympathy with xories^efore 
Great Britain. The Tory party vanished when theRevoiu- 
independence was won and the Whigs were supreme. 

From this time on the people of the United States were divided 
into political parties on questions of an American rather than a 
British character. The first great national question 
to divide the people in this way arose over the ratifi- and Anti- 
cation of the Constitution. The Federalists were in 
favor of the adoption of the Constitution, while the of Constitu- 
Anti-federalists were opposed to such action. After 
the Constitution was adopted there was no reason for the exist- 
ence of the Anti-federalists, and that party disappeared soon 

1 Hamilton estimated the state debts to be ^25,000,000. 


238 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


and Repub- 
licans at 
close of 
Washing- 
ton’s first 
administra- 
tion. 


after the inauguration of the new government. The Federalists 
were in control of all departments. 

Soon, however, new party lines were drawn, and at the close 
Federalists Washington’s first administration the two great 
parties were the Federalists and the Republicans.^ 
Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were the 
leaders of the Federalists, while Thomas Jefferson 
was in supreme control of the Republican party. 
France and England were at war at the time and the 
Republicans were in sympathy with France and wished to give 
her assistance. They said that France had aided the struggling 
colonies with men and money during the Revolution 
lican^^^^^ and that now her kindnesses should be repaid. The 
favored Federalists, on the other hand, sympathized with 

France and -r-iii • - i-ri- 

the Federal- England, but were not so intense m their teelmgs as 

i?ts Great Republicans were. 

Britain. ^ 

267. The Republicans were ‘‘ Strict Construction- 
ists ’’ and the Federalists “ Liberal Constructionists.’’ — Another 
of the important differences between the two parties lay in their 
interpretation of the Constitution. Jefferson and his followers 
believed that the Constitution should be taken literally, and that 
Congress could do nothing except what it was authorized to do 
by the definite words of the Constitution. Hamilton and his 
followers, on the contrary, contended that the Constitution 
should be interpreted liberally, or freely, and that Congress 
had the power to do many things which were not set forth in 
the words of the Constitution. • An example will probably serve 
to make this plainer. When Hamilton proposed to establish a 
national bank as a part of his financial plan, Jefferson and his 
followers said that the Constitution made no provision for the 
establishment of a bank, — that the word bank ” did not appear 
anywhere in the Constitution, — and hence Congress did not 
have the power to establish such an institution : in other words, 
Jefferson held that the establishment of a bank would be 

^ These were not the Republicans of the present day. The present Republican 
party was organized in 1854. 


INAUGURATION OF THP: GOVERNMENT 


239 


“unconstitutional.” Hamilton, on the other hand, said that the 
Constitution gave Congress the power to manage the financial 
affairs of the country, and that a national bank was a very 
necessary part of the financial machinery of the nation. He 
held that Congress had the power to do many things which 
were not set forth in exact words in the Constitution but which 
were implied. Hamilton and his followers soon came to be 
called “ liberal constructionists,” while Jefferson and his party 
were called “strict constructionists.” 

268. The Federalists favored the Upper Classes and the Repub- 
licans the Masses. — In addition to the above differences between 
the two great parties, one other should be noted. This one is 
of a more general and fundamental nature. The Federalists 
held that the government should be, for the most part, in the 
hands of the so-called upper classes ; that is, in the hands of 
the educated and the wealthy. The Republicans held that the 
masses of the people should control governmental affairs. 
Hamilton distrusted the masses of the people, while Jefferson 
had great faith and confidence in them. 

269. Genet, the French Minister, was Indiscreet and was 
Recalled. — The feeling between the Federalists and the Repub- 
licans was made more intense by the coming of Edmond Charles 
Genet, the French minister to the United States. He arrived 
on the 8th of April, 1793, and at once began to enlist men for 
the war with England, to commission privateers to prey upon 
British commerce, and to do many other things contrary to 
international law and to the wishes of a large part of the 
American people. Upon his arrival he was received so enthusi- 
astically that he came to the conclusion that all America was in 
favor of France. At Philadelphia and at other cities he was 
welcomed by the firing of guns and the ringing of bells, and 
large banquets were given in his honor — and all of this before 
he had presented his credentials to President Washington. 
These receptions tended to make him more bold and even im- 
pudent. When he did finally present his credentials to the 
President, on April 19, 1793, Washington told him very plainly 


240 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


that his actions could not be tolerated. He paid no attention, 
however, to the orders of the government, but continued in his 
course. The result was that he was deserted by all, save a few 
violent sympathizers. The French Government was asked to 
recall him, and did so promptly. He did not return to France 
to live, however, but remained in the state of New York, married 
a daughter of Governor Clinton, devoted his attention to agricul- 
ture, and died in 1834. 

270. Washington issued the Famous Proclamation of Neu- 
trality on April 22 , 1793 . — The news that war had been declared 
between France and England reached America about the time 
of the arrival of Genet. These two events raised party feeling 
in America to a fever heat, and it seemed to be necessary for 
the United States to declare her position in regard to the two 
rival nations. Washington called a meeting of his Cabinet for 
the 19th of April, and on the 22d the famous Proclamation of 
Neutrality was published. This proclamation declared that the 
United States would take no part in the war between France and 
England, but would pursue a conduct friendly and impartial 
toward the belligerent powers.” The- citizens of the United 
States were also warned to keep out of the difficulty. The 
proclamation had a marked effect. It was the death-blow to the 
plans of Genet, and incensed the French party in the United 
States beyond measure. Washington was denounced as an 
enemy of free government, and the Federalists generally were 
abused. The proclamation, however, was a necessary, wise, and 
statesmanlike measure. 

271. The Jay Treaty with Great Britain was Unpopular in 
the United States. — The Jay Treaty of 1795 also aroused a 
bitter hostility between the two great political parties. It will 
be remembered that a treaty of peace was made with Great 
Britain at the close of the Revolution in 1783. The results of 
this treaty, however, were not entirely satisfactory. Several of 
its provisions were not being carried out and some important 
questions had been left unsettled. Debts due to British creditors 
were not being paid as provided for in the treaty, and the 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


241 


loyalists were not being compensated for their estates as had 
been recommended. On the other hand, the British refused to 
surrender the western posts, on the ground that the United 
States was not living up to its part of the treaty. 

Then, too, new grievances grew out of the war between France 
and Great Britain. During this war England — and France, too 
— seized American ships and carried off their cargoes. Ameri- 
can ships and American goods were safe nowhere. Indignation 
ran high, and especially against Great Britain, as the cruisers 
of that country were more numerous and made more cap- 
tures. In addition to this the Americans were greatly incensed 
by an English practice known as '' impressment.” American 
vessels were stopped upon the high seas and searched for sea- 
men of British birth. If such were found, they were seized and 
impressed into the British service. If a sailor had been natural- 
ized as an American citizen, it made no difference. He was 
impressed into the British service nevertheless. The British 
theory was, ‘‘ Once an Englishman, always an Englishman.” 
Then, too, in many instances, native-born Americans were 
impressed into the British service. All of this was humiliating 
and stirred the government to action. 

In this crisis, when the country was trembling on the verge of 
war, Washington appointed Chief Justice John Jay to go to 
England and to make one more attempt at a peaceful settle- 
ment of the difficulties. The appointment, which was a good 
one, was made on the i6th of April, 1794. Jay soon after 
went to England and began the negotiations with 
Lord Grenville, who was Secretary of State for For- was signed 

eign Affairs. The two men drafted a treaty, which November 
^ 19, 1794. 

was signed on the 19th of November, 1794. The 

treaty met with violent opposition in the United States. It was 
not a particularly favorable one, but was undoubtedly the best 
that could be gotten at the time. Some parts of it were vio- 
lently assailed. The western posts were to be vacated by the 
British, but not until June i, 1796. Many felt that they should 
be vacated at once. Then again the British would not agree 


242 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


to pay for the slaves which were carried to England at the close 
of the Revolution, and the treaty contained no clause against 
the impressment of seamen. 

On June 8, 1795, the treaty was sent to the Senate for ratifi- 
cation. The Republicans made a violent attack upon it, but 
it was ably defended by the Federalists. After a vigorous 
debate, lasting sixteen days^ it was ratified by a strict party vote, 
with one article omitted. 

Even after the treaty was ratified by the Senate the opposition 
to it did not cease. The House of Representatives threatened to 
refuse to appropriate the money necessary to put it into 
was s^^ed effect. There was grave danger that the treaty would 
by Fisher f^[\ even then. It was probably saved by the eloquence 
and patriotism of Fisher Ames. On the 28th of April, 
1796, he came into the House of Representatives, suffering from 
what was thought to be a fatal illness, and made a pathetic ap- 
peal to his fellow-members to keep the faith which had been 
pledged by the making of the treaty. He opened his speech by 
saying that he was so weak that he could speak only a few min- 
utes, but he soon forgot his illness in the excitement of the 
moment and made a speech of considerable length and of gre^t 
power. He urged his hearers to lay aside their prejudice against 
Great Britain and to appropriate the money necessary to carry 
out the treaty. A few days later the appropriation was duly made. 
Fisher Ames had saved the day, and the treaty went into effect. 

272 . Domestic Affairs. — Before bringing our study of Wash- 
ington’s administration to a close, it will be necessary to note a 
number of important domestic events. 

The first United States census was taken, as provided by the 

Constitution, in 1790. It showed a population of 3,924,214 

persons, including the slaves, who constituted about 
The first ^ ^ ... 

census was one fifth of the number. Virginia, Massachusetts, 
Pennsylvania, and New York were the largest states 
in point of population. Three new states — Vermont, 
Kentucky, and Tennessee — were admitted to the union during 
Washington’s administrations. 


taken in 
1790. 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


243 


We have already noticed that Congress voted to locate the 
permanent seat of the government on the Potomac River. In 
1791 the location of the District of Columbia was 
definitely fixed, and the site for the capital city was of Columbia 
chosen. The broad streets and avenues and the located 
spacious squares were laid out as they now exist. ^ 
Washington wished to call the future capital of the nation, 
“The P'ederal City,” but the commissioners rightly insisted 
that it be called “ Washington.” 

The second Presidential election took place in the fall of 
1792. Washington wished to retire at the end of his first term, 
but was persuaded that it was his patriotic duty to Washington 
accept a second one. No other candidate was and Adams 

' were rC” 

thought of — not even by the Republicans. The elected in 
election of Washington was again unanimous, and ^792. 

John Adams was again chosen Vice President over George 
Clinton of New York. 

Washington’s first Cabinet had not been a harmonious one. 
Hamilton and Jefferson opposed each other “like fighting 
cocks,” and Knox sided with the former and Randolph with 
the latter. During the second administration these four men 
retired from office, one by one, and an entirely new Cabinet 
was formed. 

273 . Washington’s Farewell Address. — In September, 1796, 
Washington issued his now famous “ Farewell Address,” in the 
course of which he declared that he would not accept a third 
Presidential term. In this address he pleaded for national unity, 
obedience to law, religion, and morality. He urged the United 
States to “observe good faith and justice towards all nations,” 
to keep out of “ broils and wars,” and to avoid “ overgrown 
military establishments.” This farewell address is one of the 
most sublime documents in American history, and no other 
man in all our annals could with equal fitness make a similar 
address. 

274 . The Third Presidential Election. — Washington’s “Fare- 
well Address ” cleared the way for other candidates for the 


244 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Presidency. The Republicans would probably have attempted 
to defeat Washington if he had been a candidate for a third 
term. They must have realized, however, that the task would 
be a difficult, if not an impossible one, and were doubtless much 
relieved when Washington refused to be a candidate again. 

The two parties turned at once to Thomas Jefferson and John 
Adams as their respective leaders. Among the Republicans 
there was no leader to be compared with Jefferson, 
while the leading men of the Federalist party were 
John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, arid John Jay. 
The treaty with England had made Jay unpopular, 

FederaUst^^ Hamilton had made too many enemies to be a 
strong candidate. John Adams was consequently 
made the standard bearer of his party. The cam- 
paign was a vigorous one, in which Adams and Jefferson were 
both held up to ridicule and abuse. When the votes were 
counted it was found that Adams had seventy-one and Jefferson 
sixty-eight ; the former was consequently chosen President and 
the latter Vice President, and Washington soon after retired, to 
spend the closing years of his useful life in the peaceful shades 
of his beloved Mount Vernon. 


Jefferson 
and John 
Adams were 
the leaders 
of the Re- 


parties, re- 
spectively. 


The Presidency of John Adams, 1797-1801 

275. Character of the Second President. — John Adams became 
President of the United States on March 4, 1797. He was a 
man of force and ability, of high ideals and sterling integrity. 
He was vain, irritable, and quick-tempered, but was at the same 
time a pure, high-minded, and patriotic man. He had made a 
good record in the Continental Congress, and had served with 
credit as minister to Great Britain, F'rance, and Holland. He 
was, therefore, well prepared for the important duties of the 
Presidency. In fact, he was the best man available for the 
•office in 1797. Washington was in retirement; Jefferson and 
Hamilton were more brilliant than Adams, but not so safe and 
reliable, and were, furthermore, too partial to France and Eng- 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


245 


land, respectively ; and John Jay, although a man of great ability 
and spotless character, was not so energetic and determined as 
Adams, and was, in addition, somewhat partial to Great Britain. 


276. France and the United States have a Serious Difficulty. — 


The difficulty with France was the 
most important matter in Adams’s 
administration in so far as foreign 
affairs were concerned. The trou- 
ble began in the previous admin- 
istration. On March 28, 1794, 
Washington had appointed James 
Monroe minister to France. The 
appointment was an unfortunate 
one, and the work of Monroe 
proved a miserable failure. He 
was violently opposed to Great 
Britain and in hearty sympathy 
with France in every particular. 
The result was that he did many 
indiscreet things, and was cen- 
sured by Mr. Randolph, the Sec- 
retary of State, and later recalled 
by Washington. 

General Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney, a prominent member 
of the Constitutional Convention, 



John Adams. 


One of the founders of the American 
nation, born in Massachusetts, 1735. 
He graduated from Harvard, taught 
school, and became a lawyer. He 
was one of the Revolutionary patriots 
and was eagerly sought after by the 
British. They tried to arrest him and 
bring him to England for trial. He 
was a member of the committee which 
drafted the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, in which several changes were 
made at his suggestion. He was min- 
ister to France and our first minister 


and an able, honest, and sensible to England. He died on July 4, 1826, 

. . 1 , 1 the fiftieth anniversary of the Decla- 

man, was appointed to succeed ration of Independence. 

Monroe. Pinckney arrived in 

France on the 15th of November, 1796, but the government, 
angered by the recall of Monroe, refused to receive him and in 
February of the following year sent him notice that he must 
leave France at once or be turned over to the police authorities. 
Pinckney immediately went to Holland, and there awaited fur- 
ther instructions from his government. 

President Adams was indignant, and rightly so, at the treat- 




246 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


ment which his minister had received ; but being desirous of 

avoiding a war with France, he appointed a commis- 
can commis- Consisting of Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, 

Sion is sent John Marshall of Virginia, and Mr. Pinckney, to go 

to F'rstiico 

to France and make another effort to adjust the diffi- 
culty. These men appeared in France in the fall of 1797, but 
were not able to accomplish anything. They were not even 
given a satisfactory hearing by the French government. Dis- 
appointed and impatient of delay, they were about to aban- 
don the project, when finally, on the i8th of October, a 
messenger came from Talleyrand, the French foreign minis- 
ter, saying that it would be necessary for the Americans to 
pay a sum of money to Talleyrand and certain other officers 
of the government before they could obtain a hearing. In 
short, a bribe of ;^50,ooo was asked for. This, of course, was 
French indignantly refused. Later other representatives of 
officers ask the PTench government, designated in the official 

1 • V 

correspondence of the time as W, X, Y, and Z, 
made similar demands. ‘"Gentlemen,” said X, “you do not 
speak to the point. It is money. It is expected that you will 
offer money.” “ We have spoken to that point,” said the 
envoys, “ very explicitly.” “ No,” said X, “you have not. What 
is your answer.^” “It is No! No! not a sixpence.” On the 
29th of October the Americans were bluntly informed that 
they must pay the money or leave Paris. Soon after, Marshall 
and Pinckney asked for their passports and abandoned the 
negotiations. Gerry, who remained, was censured by the gov- 
ernment and recalled in a dispatch of the 25th of June, 1798. 

When the news of the disgraceful X Y Z affair reached the 
United States, the indignation of the people burst all bounds. 
President Adams sent a stirring message to Congress on the 
subject, and active preparations were made for war. The 
President said that he considered the negotiations at an end, 
and closed his message with this famous and patriotic sentence : 
“ I will never send another minister to France without assurances 
that he will be received, respected, and honored as the represen- 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


247 


tative of a great, free, powerful, and independent nation.” That 

sentence struck a responsive chord in the breasts of the people. 

In the meantime the United States was getting ready for the 

war which seemed inevitable. In fact, war already ^ 

’ ^ There is 

existed between the two countries in everything but danger of 
name. French cruisers were attacking American mer- 
chant boats, and Americans were retaliating as best they could. 
Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the American 
forces, and patriotically accepted the appointment. Early in 
1/99 the American cruiser Constellation captured the French 
Insnrgente^ and a declaration of war was momentarily expected. 

President Adams, however, saw that the United States was in 
no condition for war, and labored to bring about a peaceable 
but honorable solution of the difficulty. Talleyrand professed to 
be amazed when the papers in the X Y Z affair were made 
public, and protested that he knew nothing of the attempted 
bribery. He also said that France would receive the ministers 
of the United States at any time with the greatest of pleasure. 
Here was a remarkable change of front, and Adams deter- 
mined to take advantage of it. On February 25, 1799, he 
appointed Oliver Ellsworth, Patrick Henry, and William Vans 
Murray a commission to go to France for the purpose of set- 
tling the difficulties between the two countries. Mr. 

Henry declined the appointment because of the in- commission 

firmities of old age, and President Adams selected settles the 

^ . difficulty 

Governor William R. Davie of North Carolina in his and makes a 

stead. After considerable delay, these three men ^eatywith 

France. 

reached Paris in the spring of 1800. Their reception 
was all that could be desired. We were received,” they wrote, 
with the respect due to the character which we had the honor 
to bear.” The negotiations were taken up, and a treaty was 
made and duly signed on the 30th of September, 1800. 

The treaty was not a popular one, but was fairly favorable 
to the United States, and averted war for the time. Cer- 
tain captured ships were to be returned by the two na- 
tions, and property captured, but not yet condemned, was 


248 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


to be mutually restored. Individual and national debts were to 
be paid, and a better understanding was reached in regard to 
contraband goods. The signing of the treaty concluded an 
exciting and perilous chapter in American history. 

277. Domestic Affairs were influenced by Party Strife. — The 
domestic events of importance in Adams’s administration cen- 
tered around the contentions of the two political parties. Party 
strife in the United States was never more bitter than at this 
time. The Republicans and P'ederalists looked upon each other 
with distrust and contempt, and the differences were personal as 
well as political. In addition to this, the two great leaders of 
the Federalist party — Adams and Hamilton — were political 
enemies. 

278. Adams continued Washington’s Cabinet, which was not 
Loyal to him. — President Adams made the first serious mistake 
of his administration in retaining in office the Cabinet of Wash- 
ington. It seemed at the time to be the proper thing to do. 
The administration of Adams was looked upon as a continuation 
of that of Washington. For this reason it seemed best to retain 
the old Cabinet. It was a mistake, however. The Cabinet 
members were not loyal to Adams, but intrigued against him in 
a most unpardonable way. They looked upon Hamilton as the 
real leader of the Federalists, and had but little respect for 
Adams. When the President became aware of this state of 
things, he compelled some of the members to resign and reor- 
ganized his Cabinet. This step, however, increased the bitter- 
ness in the Federalist party. 

279. Obnoxious Acts were passed by the Federalists. — Party 
feeling reached its greatest height in the passage of the Nat- 
uralization Act, the Alien and Sedition acts, and the Virginia 
and Kentucky resolutions of 1798 and 1799. It will be neces- 
sary to consider these important measures separately. 

The Federalists had been greatly annoyed for a long time by 
the violent abuse of the Republican papers. Many of the edi- 
tors of these papers were foreigners and were thus doubly 
objectionable. The party in power determined to strike a blow 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


249 


at these “ democratic scribblers,” as they were called, and the 

summer of 1798 seemed to be an especially favorable time. 

The publication of the X Y Z papers in the previous spring had 

aroused a wave of popular indignation against France, French 

editors, and French sympathizers in general. The Federalists 

consequently made ready to give their opponents the finishing 

stroke. To this end a series of acts were passed, 

the first of which was the Naturalization Act of The Natural- 
ization Act. 

June 18, 1798. This act provided that a foreigner 
would have to be a resident of the United States for at least 
fourteen years before becoming eligible to citizenship. The 
period of residence before this time had been five years. 

Many of the enemies of the Federalists could not be reached 
by the Naturalization Act, hence another measure, known as the 
Alien Act, was passed a week later — June 25, 1798. The Alien 
Under this act the President had the power to order 
a foreigner from the country within a certain time in case he 
considered him dangerous to the peace and safety of the 
United States.” President Adams, however, never made use of 
the power thus given to him. 

The next act to be passed by the vindictive Federalists was 
the Alien Enemies Act of July 6, 1798. This act provided 
that in time of war all males fourteen years of age xhe Alien 
and upward who were subjects of the hostile govern- Enemies Act. 
ment were liable to arrest and removal as ‘‘alien enemies.” 
The execution of the act was placed in the hands of the 
President. 

Next in order was the Sedition Act of July 14, 1798. This 
act provided for a fine and imprisonment for writing or publish- 
ing any article intended to bring the government xhe Sedition 
officials into contempt or disrepute. The purpose of ^ct. 
the act was to silence the criticisms of the Republican editors. 
The abusive articles of the Federalist papers were, however, 
unnoticed by the government. A few editors were prosecuted 
under the Sedition Act, but the hostile criticism was not silenced. 
It was probably increased, and the P'ederalists soon saw that they 


250 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


had made a gigantic blunder. It would have been wiser on 
their part to ignore the attacks of the Republican editors. 

280 . The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were Protests 
against the Acts passed by the Federalists. — At last the people 
objected. These unwise Federalist measures resulted in the 
drafting of the famous Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 
1798 and 1799. Jefferson and Madison were the authors of the 
resolutions, and by this means they protested against the govern- 
ment’s “rod of iron,” and said that Congress did not have the 
right to assume such vast powers. 

The first set of Kentucky resolutions was drafted by Jefferson 
and passed by the legislature of Kentucky on November 16, 
1798. In the main, these resolutions were an argument against 
the powers of the general government and in favor of “ State 
Rights.” The offensive Federalist acts above mentioned were 
loudly condemned and declared to be “ void and of no effect.” 

The Virginia resolutions were drafted by Madison, and passed 
by the legislature of the state on the 24th of December, 1798. 
The main purpose of the resolutions was the same as that of 
those passed by Kentucky, but they were more moderate and 
reasonable. 

On the 22d of November, 1799, the legislature of Kentucky 
passed a second set of resolutions. In these it was expressly 
stated that the several states had the undoubted right to declare 
null and void any law passed by Congress which seemed to be 
unauthorized by the Constitution. The offensive laws were 
again declared to be unconstitutional, and a “ solemn protest ” 
was made against them. 

The claim that the states had the right to pass upon the con- 
stitutionality of a law of Congress now seems ridiculous. It is 
clear that the Supreme Court of the United States is the 
proper authority to do this. The majority of the people of the 
time saw this clearly enough. When the various sets of resolu- 
tions were sent to the legislatures of the other states they 
received little or no sympathy. The nullification doctrines of 
Jefferson and Madison were not indorsed then and have not 


INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 


251 


been since/ though the majority of the people may have 
believed in 1799 that the general government had gone beyond 
its powers. 

281 . Washington died at Mount Vernon, December 14, 1799. — 

On December 14, 1799, while the people were engaged in a 
lively debate on the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, George 
Washington, the strong staff upon which the nation had leaned 
in time of stress, passed away. Although his career seemed 
rounded out and complete, his death was nevertheless a great 
loss to the nation and a blow to the prospects of the Federalist 
party. Tobias Lear, Washington’s private secretary, in sending 
to President Adams the news of the death of his chief, wrote : 
His last scene corresponded with the whole tenor of his life ; 
not a groan, nor a complaint, escaped him in extreme distress. 
With perfect resignation, and in full possession of his reason, 
he closed his well-spent life.” 

282 . The Election of 1800. — The quarrel between Hamilton 
and Adams came to a climax in the election of 1800. Adams 
wished to be rejected, and Hamilton made an effort to keep 
him fromi getting the nomination. Finding this impossible, he 
worked against him in an underhanded way during the cam- 
paign. John Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney were 
the Federalist candidates and Thomas Jefferson and Aaron 
Burr represented the Republicans. Hamilton wrote a letter in 
which he said in substance that Adams was totally unfitted 
for the Presidency, but that he would advise his friends to vote 
for him nevertheless. The result of the election is soon told. 
Jefferson and Burr each received seventy-three votes; Adams, 
sixty-five; Pinckney, sixty-four; and John Jay, one. 

There was no choice, and the election of the President is chosen 

was thrown, for the first time, into the House of ^ndBurr 
Representatives. Jefferson was finally chosen Presi- Vice Presi- 
dent and Burr Vice President, and the supremacy of 

^ It is fair to say, however, that Jefferson and Madison did not realize the full 
meaning of the dangerous doctrines which they were advocating. These doctrines 
now appear in a very different light. 


252 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


the Federalist party was over. It never recovered from its 
defeat in 1800. John Adams, however, lived on for a quarter of 
a century. He died on the evening of July 4, 1826, at the age 
of ninety-one. His last words were: ‘‘Thomas Jefferson still 
lives.” He did not know that Jefferson had passed away a few 
hours before. 


FACTS AND DATES 

1789-1797. Washington’s Administrations. 

1791. District of Columbia Located. 

1793- Proclamation of Neutrality. 

1795. The Jay Treaty with Great Britain. 

1796. Washington’s Farewell Address. 

1797- 1801. John Adams’s Administration. 

1798. Naturalization Act, Alien Act, Sedition Act. 

1798- 1799. Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. 

1799. Death of Washington. 

1800. Election of Jefferson. 


CHAPTER XXII 


THE UNITED STATES IN 1800 


283 . Little Progress was made in the Closing Years of the 
Eighteenth Century. — Before taking up the story of Jeffer- 
son’s administrations it will be well for us to note briefly the 
general social condition of the country at the close of the eight- 
eenth century. The account will be a disappointing one in 
some respects, as not much progress was being made. In fact, 
the closing years of the century were a period of stagnation. 
It is pleasing to note, however, that they were followed by an 
epoch of brilliant advancement. 

281 The Census of 1800. — The census of 1800 showed a 
substantial increase in population. There were popuia 
5,308,483 people in the United States, as against tionini79o 
3,929,214 in 1790. About one fifth of the population ^^29214- in 
was negro slaves. Virginia was still the most popu- 1800, 
lous state, with Pennsylvania, New York, North Caro- 
lina, and Massachusetts following in the order named. 

The five millions of people were scattered over three hundred 
thousand square miles of territory. About three and 

The 8 iTQ 8 i of 

one-half millions of them were located within easy reach the United 

of the ocean, and the remainder in the interior. Ken- States in 

tucky and Tennessee were known as the ‘Har West,” 300,000 

and only a few settlements had been made in the Ohio square 

miles. 

territory. Towns had been started at Marietta, Cin- 
cinnati, and Chillicothe, and there were a few tents where 
Cleveland now stands. 

285 . The Cities in 1800. — The cities were small in size and 
few in number. Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Boston, 
and Charleston, with populations ranging from seventy thou- 

253 


254 


x\MERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


sand to twenty thousand, were the five largest cities, in the 
order named. Philadelphia was the leading city in the United 

Philadelphia States, not only in population, but in education, cul- 
wasthe ture, and municipal improvements as well. The city 
largest city. partially drained, some of its streets were paved, 

and provisions were made for lighting and policing. Water 
was supplied by means of a system of wooden pipes, and the 
city jail is said to have been a model ” one, although prisoners 
soon perished from confinement in it. 

Washington was a city only in name. The Capitol was there, 
but it was not finished in 1800. On the 17th of November, of 
that year. Congress met in the city of Washington 

There \V3S 

almost noth- the first time. The city was beautifully located 
ing in 1800 planned on a magnificent scale, but it had 

where the ^ ^. . . 

city of only a few, unfinished buildings in the midst of the 

Washington wilderness. The contrast between Philadelphia and 
now stands. . . 

Washington must have been striking. Mrs. Adams, 
wife of the President, writing on the 21st of November, 1800, 
spoke of the dense forests which surrounded the government 
buildings and complained of the scarcity of wood for fuel. She 
was obliged to endure many inconveniences because of the 
unfinished condition of the Presidential mansion, later known 
as the “White House.” 

286 . Indented Servants were bound to Service for a Term 
of Years. — In addition to the million of negro slaves, the in- 
dented servants practically became slaves for a term of years. 
These men agreed to work for some one for a period of three 
to eight years for their passage to the United States. At the 
end of that time they were free to do as they pleased. It is 
perhaps needless to say that the system led to many cruelties. 
Masters in too many instances were intent only upon getting 
as much money as possible from the labor of their servants. 
In one instance a ship captain appeared at Philadelphia during 
an epidemic of yellow fever and offered his shipload of indented 
servants as nurses. In selling the labor of the servants, family 
ties were often disregarded and families separated. 


THE UNITED STATES IN 1800 , 


255 


287 . Agriculture was the Most Important Industry. — Agri- 
culture was the most important industry, especially in the 
South. Manufacturing was in its infancy, but commerce was 
extensive and profitable. In 1800 about 1,200,000 barrels of 
flour and 2,000,000 bushels of wheat were exported. Tobacco, 
rice, and indigo were the most important exports from the 
South ; but cotton, owing to the invention of the cotton gin, 
was rapidly coming into prominence (§ 373). 

288 . The Stagecoach, the Principal Vehicle, was Slow and Un- 
comfortable. — It was impossible, however, for agriculture, 
manufacturing, or commerce to make any very great advance 
without better facilities for transportation. The heavy, clumsy, 
and uncomfortable stagecoach was the principal vehicle for 
land travel. It was a huge, boxlike affair, without glass win- 
dows, doors, or steps, and provided with side curtains of leather 
to be used in stormy weather. These rude coaches, drawn by 
bony horses in harness of rope, lumbered along at the rate of 
forty miles a day in summer and twenty-five in winter. The 

‘day, however, began at three o’clock in the morning and ended 
at ten o’clock at night. In 1783 two of these coaches handled 
the passenger traffic, and a part of the freight as well, between 
New York and Boston. In many instances in stagecoach travel 
the passengers were obliged to get out and push in order 
to get the vehicle out of the mud. Spots of quicksand were 
marked by stakes to warn travelers to avoid them, and in many 
instances it was necessary to go through fields and take an en- 
tirely new course. The great rivers were not bridged, and the 
coaches crossed on the ice in winter and on rude ferryboats 
in summer. In the breaking-up time of the spring and during 
the early winter, when the ice was not strong, the passage was 
often very dangerous. 

289 . The Steam Engine was invented in 1769. — No great 
progress could be made in transportation without the use of 
steam power. James Watt had invented the steam engine in 
1769, but not much use had been made of the invention in 
America. It is said that there were but three steam engines 


256 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Latrobe 
thought 
that steam 
power could 
never be 
used to pro- 
pel boats. 


in the United States in 1803. Steam power had not yet been 
successfully applied to transportation. The locomotive was a 
thing of the future and a practical steamboat had not yet been 
constructed. John Fitch and James Rumsey had shown that 
boats could be propelled by steam power, but it remained for 
Robert Fulton, in 1807, to apply the power to navigation in a 
practical way. As a matter of fact, there was a pop- 
ular prejudice against such inventions. People 
laughed at ‘‘Fulton’s Folly,” and in May, 1803, Mr. 
Benjamin H. Latrobe, the leading engineer in the 
United States, declared that the attempt to propel 
boats by steam power would end in failure. He said 
that the engine and fuel were too heavy and occupied too much 
space; that the motion of the engine strained the boat and made 
it leaky; that the expense of maintenance was too great ; and 
that the paddles or oars were likely to break. He would prob- 
ably open his eyes in astonishment if he could see a modern 
ocean liner, more than 700 feet long, nearly 80 feet wide, and 
more than 50 feet deep, plowing the seas at the rate of 25 miles 
an hour and with three thousand people on board. 

290 . A Profitable Commerce was carried on with China and the 
West Indies. — In the latter part of the eighteenth century there 
was an important commerce with China and the Great East. 
It was no easy task to make these extensive voyages with the 
. imperfect nautical appliances of the time, yet a boy of nine- 
teen took a ship from Calcutta to Boston with no chart to 
guide him except a small map of the world taken from one of 
the school geographies. Vessels returning from the Orient 
brought tea, coffee, muslin, silks, and other valuable products. 
West Indian commerce was also varied and profitable. One 
vessel is said to have carried “ provisions, brick, and lumber, 
twenty horses, seventeen cattle, seventeen mules, twenty sheep, 
twenty swine, one hundred and fifty geese, and one hundred 
turkeys. The return cargo included rum, molasses, sugar, wine, 
pimento, pepper, tamarinds, sweetmeats, anise-seed, coffee, cot- 
ton, tobacco, indigo, and salt.” 


THE UNITED STATES IN 1800 


257 


291. Ships were built in New England and Philadelphia. — 

The commerce of the time, together with the whale and cod 
fisheries, made a great demand for ships. The shipbuilding 
industry thus became an important one. Most of the best ships 
were made in New England, but the Philadelphia builders also 
did good work. A vessel of three hundred tons was considered, 
a 'Marge ship.” Ocean steamships are now being made as 
large as 20,000 tons. 

The mast trade also flourished in connection with the ship- 
building industry. The tall, straight pines of New ^hemast 
England made splendid masts for sailing ships. The trade was 
American mast was also prominent in foreign ship- 
yards. James Allen, an early poet, in reminding England of 
this fact, said : — 

“ E’en the tall mast, that bears your flag on high, 

Grew in our soil, and ripened in our sky.” 


292. Intellectual Progress. — Not much intellectual progress 
was being made at the close of the century. The public school 

system had not yet been established in all the states, schools and 
and the colleges were small and the instruction poor, colleges 
In 1800 the faculty of Harvard College consisted of ^oo?and^^^’ 
seven members, and Wild, an English traveler, few in num- 

• boiT 

declared that Princeton better deserved the title of a 
grammar school than of a college. 

American literature was in its infancy. Philip Freneau had 
written a few poems of some merit, and the writings of Ben- 
jamin Franklin and Thomas Paine were widely read. 

President Timothy Dwight of Yale College • was 
known as an essayist, a writer of travel, and a poet, was in its 
JohnMarshall wrote his valuable “Life of Washington” 
in 1800, and Charles Brockden Brown, a writer of romance, 
poetry, history, and geography, has the distinction of being “the 
first American who adopted letters as his sole profession.” On 
the whole, no great advance had been made. The golden age of 
Irving, Cooper, and Bryant was still in the future. 


258 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The 

preacher 
was a man 
of influence 


The preacher, especially in New England, was a man of great 
influence. Books were scarce and newspapers and magazines 
almost unknown, and the life of the people was 
molded, in large part, by the teachings of the pulpit. 
The sermons of the pastor were long and his labor 
difficult, but his salary was small and in many cases 
not promptly paid. It was frequently paid, too, not in money, 
but in turnips, corn, beans, and bacon. 

In spite of the labors of the clergy, the moral plane of the 
time was not high. Drinking, profanity, and rough-and-tumble 
fights were very common in the taverns of the time. There has 
been a great advance in this respect in the last hundred years. 
Practices that would not be tolerated now were then allowed to 
go on without protest. 

The physician was an important member of- the community. 
His medical education was not very good when compared to 
that of a physician of to-day, but he was usually an 
intelligent man and did much to relieve suffering. 
In the country districts he was expected to attend all 
who were in need of his services, and then collect his 
fees if he could. The drugs necessary for the patient 
were usually supplied from his saddlebags." His fees 
were small, and his work was made difficult by long trips through 
the wilderness and over the worst of roads. 

The industrial and intellectual prospects of the United States 

were not brilliant in 1800, but as we look back at the time after 

, the lapse of a century it is evident that a new era was 

A new and ^ 

better era about to dawn. The opening of the new century 
to^dawn^^ marks the beginning of a period of wonderful prog- 
ress in all lines of activity. We shall have occasion 
to note this progress from time to time in the succeeding 
chapters. 


The physi- 
cian was 
prominent, 
but his 
medical 
education 
was poor. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 

1801-1825 

293. The Masses of the People greeted Jefferson’s Election 
with Delight. — We noticed in a previous chapter that the Fed- 
eralists were defeated in the election of 1800. The transfer of 
governmental authority from the Federalists to the Republicans 
is an important event in American history. The triumph of 
Jefferson and the Republicans was hailed with delight all over 
the country except in .some parts of New England. Bells and 
guns of every sort were pressed into service after the election, 
to express the joy of the Republicans. Again, on Inauguration 
Day, the bells rang, the cannons boomed, and business was quite 
generally suspended. It was felt by Jefferson and his fol- 
lowers that the control of the government had passed from the 
hands of the so-called upper classes ” into those of the people. 
The Federalists, on the other hand, were much depressed. 
They felt that the “ ship of state ” was in the control of an 
ignorant rabble and was in danger of being wrecked. 

294. The Inauguration was a Simple Ceremony. — The inaugu- 
ration was not an impressive ceremony. Jefferson was the first 
President to be inaugurated in Washington. The city was new 
and crude, and the Republicans were not in favor of useless 
display. The new President walked to the Capitol in the 
company of a few friends and quietly took the oath of office. 

The inaugural address had been awaited with great eager- 
ness. It was regarded not only as the utterance of 

^ ^ c ^ c 1 • 1 

a great man, but as the platform of a party which gurai ad- 

was being intrusted for the first time with the man- <iress was 
^ ^ conciliatory. 

agement of national affairs. Jefferson was broad- 
minded in his hour of triumph, and tried in his address to 

259 


26 o 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


conciliate his opponents. Let us then, fellow-citizens,” he 
said, unite with one heart and one mind and labor for the 



Thomas Jefferson. 


welfare of the country*.” ‘^We are 
all Republicans, we are all Federal- 
ists,” he exclaimed, in another part 
of the address. This was not strictly 
true, but it may have served to soften 
somewhat the intense party feeling 
of the time. 

295. Madison and Gallatin were the 
Ablest Men in the Cabinet. — One of 
Jefferson’s first duties was to reor- 
ganize and strengthen the Cabinet. 
James Madison, the defender of the 


Constitution, was appointed Secretary 
of State and Henry Dearborn of Mas- 
sachusetts Secretary of War. Levi 
Lincoln, also of Massachusetts, was 
made Attorney-General. Samuel Dex- 
ter, Secretary of the Treasury under 
Adams, was retained by Jefferson for 
a short time, and was then succeeded 
by Albert Gallatin, the noted Swiss. 
After being offered to at least five 
different men, the Secretaryship of 
the Navy was accepted by Robert 
Smith, a Baltimore lawyer. The Cabi- 
net as thus constituted was a har- 
monious, loyal, and fairly able body 
of men ; although Madison and Gal- 
latin were the only members of first- 
class importance. 

296. Jefferson sent his Message to 
Congress in Writing. — Jefferson’s 
first message to Congress was an important one, as it outlined, 
in a general way, the course which legislation would probably 


“The man of the people” was 
born in Virginia in 1743. He 
was graduated from William 
and ]\Iary College and became 
a lawyer. He served in the 
Virginia legislature and in the 
Continental Congress. He was 
governor of Virginia, minister to 
France, Secretary of State, and 
twice elected President of the 
United States. He was opposed 
to slavery, and took steps look- 
ing to emancipation. With 
some assistance from others he 
devised our present decimal cur- 
rency system. His motto was 
** Rebellion to tyrants is obedi- 
ence to God.” He was buried at 
Monticello, Virginia, and over his 
grave is a monument of granite 
bearing an inscription composed 
by himself. It reads as follows : 
“ Here lies buried Thomas Jeffer- 
son, author of the Declaration of 
Independence, of the Statute 
of Virginia for Religious Free- 
dom, and Father of the Univer- 
sity of Virginia.” He died July 
4, 1826 — the fiftieth anniver- 
sary of the famous Declaration. 



THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


261 


take. It is also interesting as being the first message sent to 
Congress in writing. Washington and Adams had delivered 
their messages orally. Jefferson’s friends said that it was more 
businesslike to send a message in writing, while his enemies de- 
clared that he changed the original method because he was a 
good writer, but a very poor public speaker. It is certain that 
it would not now be practicable for a President to deliver his 
messages orally. They are very long, and are read by several 
clerks in the presence of the two Houses. 

297 . The Membership of the House was Increased. — The 
second census was taken in 1800, and made necessary a new 
apportionment of representatives. The ratio was fixed at one 
representative for every thirty-three thousand inhabitants, and 
the membership of the House was increased from one hundred 
and five to one hundred and forty-one. 

On November 29, 1802, Ohio, with forty-five thousand people, 
was admitted into the union as the seventeenth state. 

298 . The Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed in 1802. — 
Just before going out of power the Federalist party passed an 
act creating additional federal courts, and John Adams sat up 
until nearly midnight on March 3, 1801, making appointments 
under the act. The Republicans were opposed to the whole 
matter. They said that the new judgeships were not necessary, 
but were created in order to provide life tenure offices for promi- 
nent Federalists. The act was promptly repealed by the 
Republicans in March, 1802, and many of Adams’s ‘‘midnight 
appointments ” never went into effect. 

299 . Jefferson reduced Taxes and cut down Expenses of the 
Government. — It was a part of the programme of Republican 
simplicity to retrench, or to cut down the running expenses of 
the government. By an act of April 6, 1802, the Repub- 
licans repealed the laws levying internal taxes. These taxes 
had long been unpopular, and had caused the “Whisky 
Rebellion” and other insurrections. Now that these taxes had 
been abolished, it was necessary to reduce the expenses of the 
government. 


262 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The 

national 
debt was 
reduced 
fifty per 
cent. 


These expenditures had increased with great rapidity during 
the last few years. In 1793 the expenses of the general govern- 
ment were ;^3,8oo,ooo, and in 1800 they were, in round numbers, 
$11,000,000. Mr. Gallatin, the Secretary of the Treasury, made 
a plan whereby the expenses were to be reduced and the' 
national debt paid off. The plan seemed to work well. The 
income from customs duties was increased, the cost of the 
army and navy was greatly decreased, and in a short 
time the national debt was reduced fifty per cent. 
This, on the face of it, was an excellent showing, but 
it should be borne in mind that fortifications were not 
kept up, officers and men had been dismissed from the 
army, the navy had been allowed to dwindle, and the expenditure 
of large sums of money would be necessary to prepare the country 
for war. The War of 1812 showed that some of Jefferson’s 
retrenchments were not wise. 

300 . The Naturalization Period was reduced from Fourteen 
Years to Five Years in 1802. — The Naturalization Act of 1798 
was odious to the Republicans. It was accordingly repealed 
on April 14, 1802, and the term of residence for citizenship 
was reduced from fourteen years to five years, where it still 
remains. 

301 . The Twelfth Amendment was added in 1804. — The 

election of 1800 had shown that there was a serious def^t in 
the working of the electoral college. As a result of this the 
method of electing President and Vice President was radically 
changed on September 25, 1804, by means of the twelfth amend- 
ment, which is still in force (§ 212). 

302 . Jefferson was reelected in 1804 by an Enormous Majority. 
— The election of 1804 was thus the first to be held under the 
remodeled electoral college. The contest was one-sided and 
was not an especially interesting one. The people were over- 
whelmingly in favor of Jefferson and the Republicans, and the 
Federalist party was practically dead. The Republicans carried 
every state except Connecticut and Delaware. George Clinton, 
of New York was chosen Vice President. 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


263 


303 . Hamilton was killed by Burr in a Duel in 1804. — Aaron 
Burr, who was Vice President at the time, was not thought of. 
He was looked upon by the people of all parties with contempt. 
Burr was a candidate for the governorship of New York in 
1804, and Alexander Hamilton, not considering him a worthy 
man, opposed him very vigorously. Stung to desperation by 
the attacks of Hamilton, Burr challenged him to fight a duel. 
Hamilton, with his usual personal bravery, but with a false 
sense of honor, accepted the challenge. The two men met in 
mortal combat at Weehawken, New York, on July ii, 1804, and 
Hamilton fell mortally wounded. On the following day, at the 
early age of forty-seven, the ablest of that brilliant group of 
constitutional statesmen passed away. The death of Hamilton 
made Burr an outcast, and no one thought of him as a successor 
to himself in the Vice Presidency. 

304 . Louisiana was purchased from France for $15,000,000 
in 1803. — The most important event in Jefferson’s administra- 
tion — in fact, one of the most important events in American 
history — was the purchase of the Louisiana territory from 
France in 1803. It should be stated that Louisiana at this time 
extended from Canada on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on 
the south, and from the Mississippi River on the east to the 
Rocky Mountains on the west. This vast territory was obtained 
for France, as we have seen, by the work of her early explorers. 
In 1763 France gave the part of Louisiana west of the Missis- 
sippi, and the island of New Orleans, to Spain, to compensate 
her for the loss of Florida. France regretted the loss of the 
territory and succeeded in inducing Spain to give it back to her 
by the treaty of 1800, in return for some Italian territory. It 
was thought best to keep the matter a secret for reasons which 
will appear later. 

It should be said at this point that a very small part of the 
Louisiana territory lay on the east side of the Mississippi River. 
The city of New Orleans and a small tract of surrounding land 
were thus located. This gave the Spaniards the control of the 
mouth of the river — a very important matter from the stand- 


264 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


demanded 
control of 
the mouth 
of the Mis- 
sissippi 
River. 


point of commerce. ^The Americans were exceedingly anxious 
to obtain control of the mouth of the river, as a large part of 
their commerce was finding an outlet in this direction. They 
obtained a right of deposit ” from the Spaniards by treaty in 
1795. This means that the Americans were allowed to deposit 
their goods, carried in river boats, at New Orleans and then 
reship them in ocean vessels after paying the Spaniards a fee 
for the privilege of so doing. 

When it was rumored in the fall of 1801 that Louisiana had 
been given back to France, there was great excitement in the 
The West United States. France was a strong nation and 
Spain a weak one at the time, and it was feared that 
our commerce would be entirely shut off from the 
Mississippi. The people of the West became wildly 
excited, and there was talk of taking possession of 
Louisiana by force of arms. The excitement was made more 
intense when, on the i6th of October, 1802, the ‘‘right of 
deposit ” was taken away by proclamation of the Spanish gov- 
ernor. 

Robert R. Livingston of New York was the American minis- 
ter to France at the time, and he was directed to purchase, if 
possible, the island of New Orleans. France would not listen 
to such a proposition and Livingston could make no progress. 
Finally, on January ii, 1803, President Jefferson appointed 
James Monroe of Virginia to go to France to assist Living- 
ston. It seemed to most men of the time that Livingston and 
Monroe were attempting to do that which was impossible, and 
that Napoleon, who was at the head of PTench affairs, would 
never part with Louisiana, as he was desirous of building up a 
magnificent French empire in America. Just when things 
seemed darkest, the whole matter suddenly cleared up. Up to 
this time Talleyrand, the Foreign Secretary, and Napoleon had 
steadfastly refused to part with even that small amount of land 
upon which the city of New Orleans stood ; now they offered to 
sell to Livingston the whole of Louisiana territory. The cause 
for this sudden change of mind was the fact that Napoleon 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


265 


feared that Great Britain was about to seize his American 
possessions. He decided, therefore, that he would prefer to 
sell Louisiana to the United States rather than have it fall into 
the hands of his enemy, England. Livingston and Monroe 
were amazed. They had neither the authority nor the money 
to purchase the entire territory, but wisely concluded that they 
should not let the opportunity slip of adding such a Lj^ingston 
magnificent domain to the United States. They and Monroe 

signed the 

accordingly accepted the proposition, and agreed by treaty, April 
a treaty, signed April 30, 1803, to pay fifteen million 
dollars for the territory of Louisiana. 

When the terms of the treaty became known in the United 
States there was great astonishment. On the whole, the people 
were delighted, but Jefferson was perplexed. He 
was a strict constructionist,” and could find no Emerson 
clause in the Constitution which authorized the pur- sure that 

the pur- 
chase of territory on such a large scale. He wished, chase was 

however, to retain Louisiana and to have the Consti- tutionai. 
tution amended in such a way as to make the pur- 
chase constitutional. His friends finally persuaded him that 
territory could be acquired under the treaty-making power of 
the Constitution and that no amendment was necessary ; hence 
none was made. 

By this purchase the area of the United States was doubled. 
Louisiana contained five hundred and sixty million 
acres. Its area was more than seven times that of o^®hY^^ 
Great Britain and Ireland ; it was larger than Great United 
Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Italy was 
combined. Twelve states and two territories now by the 
occupy this vast domain, and its population is nearly p^riha^e^ 
fifteen millions, or about one fifth of that of the entire 
country. 

305. Barbary Pirates were plundering American Ships upon the 
High Seas. — There are some other foreign affairs which, at this 
point, should receive attention. American commerce, at this 
time, was not safe even upon the high seas. American ships. 


266 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


and the ships of European nations, also, were being plundered 
by the pirates from the Barbary States of northern 
Africa. In 1803, the navy of the United States 
moved against Tripoli, and in 1805 Commodore 
Preble compelled that power to cease its attacks upon 
American ships and to make a treaty. This step was 
a surprise to the remaining Barbary States, and they, 
too, ceased, their depredations. 

306. France and Britain also plunder American Ships. — The 
worst attacks, however, upon American commerce were made, 
not by the Barbary States, but by France and Great Britain. 
These two nations were not hostile to America, but they were 
at war with one another, and neither hesitated to strike Ameri- 
can commerce in case the other could be injured by so doing. 
According to international law, ships are not allowed to enter 
a blockaded ” port, and if they do so are liable to capture and 
confiscation. In order that a port may be said to be “block- 
aded,"’ however, there must be ships stationed near by to pre- 
vent trading boats from entering. In that case if a vessel 
“ runs the blockade ” it must suffer the consequences if caught. 
There must be, however, a blockading fleet; yet in this case 
France and Britain simply declared certain ports to be in a 
state of blockade, but sent no fleets to put the decrees into 
effect. Then they captured American vessels anywhere on 
the high seas if bound to or from blockaded ports. This is 
called a “ paper blockade,” and is not warranted by the law of 
nations. Yet in this way many American ships were seized 
by the cruisers of France and England, and their cargoes con- 
demned and sold. 

307. American Seamen are impressed into the British Service. 

— In addition to this the British insisted upon the “right of 
search ” and of “ impressment.” The right of search is per- 
mitted by international law for certain definite purposes, such 
as for the detection of piracy or the presence of goods which 
are “ contraband of war ” ; this right, however, was much abused 
by Great Britain. That power also insisted upon searching 


The 

American 
navy de- 
feated 
Tripoli in 
1805, and 
the dep- 
redations 
ceased. 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


267 


American ships for British sailors, and upon impressing them, 
when found, into the British service. Here, too, there were 
many abuses. In some cases Englishmen who had been 
naturalized in the United States were taken from American 
boats and pressed into the service of England, and in many 
cases native-born American citizens were similarly treated. In 
this way thousands of American sailors were wrongfully im- 
pressed into the British service. President Jefferson and the 
whole people were naturally indignant and sought a remedy for 
the wrong that was being done. 

308. Jefferson was not in Favor of War. — The attacks upon 
our commerce would have been a just cause for war against 
either France or England, but Jefferson preferred a peaceable 
policy. He saw that the United States was not ready to enter 
into war against either one of these great nations. However, 
he made preparations for war and sent two envoys to Great 
Britain to negotiate a treaty. 

James Monroe and William Pinckney were the men sent, 
but the treaty which they obtained was so objectionable that it 
was never sent to the Senate for ratification. In the meantime 
the outrages on American commerce continued. The climax 
was reached on June 22, 1807. On this date the British frigate 
Leopard fired upon the American frigate Chesapeake^ near 
Hampton Roads. The American vessel was caught unawares, 
overpowered, and compelled to surrender. The whole nation 
was aroused. Men wore crape in honor of the Chesapeake' s 
dead, and cried out for war. Never,” said Jefferson in a 
letter to Lafayette, since the battle of Lexington, have I seen 
the country in such a state of exasperation as at present.” 

309. The Embargo Act was passed, December, 1807 . — As a 

remedy for this state of affairs Jefferson suggested his 
famous Embargo* policy. On the 22d of December, 1807, 

a bill embodying the President’s idea was passed. This law 
prohibited American ships from leaving for a foreign port 
under any condition. Commerce was to be stopped and Ameri- 
can ships and American sailors were to be protected by being 


268 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The law 
was a 
failure 
and .was 
repealed, 
1809. 


kept safely in American harbors. Then, too, France and Eng- 
land were to be injured by being deprived of American goods. 

The law was a flat failure. Shipowners were not in 
favor of it, it was found impossible to enforce it, 
and France and England received the measure with 
laughter. Jefferson finally admitted that his policy 
was a failure, and the Embargo Act was repealed 
March i, 1809. 

310 . A Non-intercourse Act was passed, 1809. — On the same 
day a Non-intercourse Act was passed, cutting off commercial 
intercourse with Great Britain and France. This act was to 
remain in force for a short time only. 

In the closing scenes of his administration Jefferson took but 
little part. In January of 1809 he said: I am now so near 

retiring that I take no part in affairs beyond the 
expression of an opinion. . . . Five weeks more 
will relieve me from a drudgery to which I am no 
longer equal.” Jefferson’s first administration was a 
great success, but it must be admitted that the second 
was not. 

311 . Domestic Affairs. — Although the chief interest in Jeffer- 
son’s second administration centers in foreign affairs, there are 
a few domestic matters which should not pass unnoticed. 

The most sensational of these domestic affairs was the con- 
spiracy of Aaron Burr. After his duel with Alexander Hamil- 
ton, Burr became a political and social outcast. His 
business affairs, too, were in an unsatisfactory con- 
dition. He was accordingly in a proper frame of 
mind for a desperate enterprise, and planned an 
expedition to the Southwest. There is even now 
a great deal of doubt in regard to what Burr really 
intended to do, but it is probable that he wished to make a con- 
quest of Mexico and the Spanish possessions, and to cut off 
a large part of the southwestern territory from the United 
States. He wished to organize this vast domain into an empire 
under the leadership of himself and his daughter Theodosia. 


Jefferson’s 
second 
adminis- 
tration 
was not 
so suc- 
cessful as 
his first. 


Aaron 
Burr at- 
tempted 
to found 
an em- 
pire in 
the South- 
west. 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 269 


His scheme was fascinating in many respects, and attracted 
many reckless adventurers. 

In December, 1806, Burr got together a party of men at 
Blennerhasset’s Island, in the Ohio River, and started down 
stream. In January, 1807, he reached the lower Mississippi 
with about one hundred men. In the meantime, however, 
his designs had become known to President Jefferson, 
who issued a proclamation looking to his capture. for^ 
Burr was arrested soon after and placed on trial for 
treason at Richmond. The case was tried by Chief 

•' quitted. 

Justice John Marshall of the Supreme Court, and 
Edmund Randolph and Luther Martin appeared as attorneys 
for the defense. After an exciting trial, which lasted for more 
than three months. Burr was declared ‘‘ not guilty,” much to the 
regret of Jefferson. 

312 . The Election of 1808. — Some of Jefferson’s friends 
wished him to be a candidate for a third term, but he would not 
listen to the idea. He was sixty-five years of age, 
had been in public life for forty years, and, further- declined 
more, he believed in the democratic theory of short 
terms of office. James Madison of Virginia then 
became the leading candidate for the office, although James 
Monroe of the same state was favored by some. Many Northern 
Republicans favored Governor Clinton of New York. 

Madison was the choice of Jefferson, and he was was^nSni- 
accordingly nominated, while Clinton was nominated and^tiected 


for the Vice Presidency. The Federalists chose 
C. C. Pinckney and Rufus King. The campaign was an 
interesting one, and Madison and Clinton were elected by 
overwhelming majorities. 

On March 4, 1809, Jefferson gave over the reins of govern- 
ment to his faithful personal and political friend, James Madi- 
son, and soon after retired from the public gaze, to spend the 
remainder of his useful life in the beloved seclusion of his delight- 
ful home at Monticello. 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


2 70 


James Madison, 1809-1817 


313. James Madison was well known in Public Life. — No 

introduction to James Madison will be necessary here. He was 
well and favorably known in the United States long before he 
became President. He had been prominent in Virginia affairs, 
he had been one of the most conspicuous figures in the Consti- 
tutional Convention, and had re- 
cently served as Secretary of 
State under Jefferson. Further- 
more, he had always agreed with 
Jefferson upon matters of govern- 
ment, and for this reason his ad- 
ministration may be looked upon 
as a continuation of that of his 
predecessor. 

314. Madison’s Cabinet was 
not a Strong One. — Madison re- 
tained three members of Jeffer- 
son’s Cabinet. Robert Smith of 
Maryland, formerly Secretary of 
the Navy, became Secretary of 
State ; Caesar A. Rodney of Dela- 
ware, formerly Attorney-General, 
was continued in that office ; and 
Albert Gallatin, the famous finan- 
cier, remained at the head of the 
Treasury Department. The re- 
maining positions were filled by 
comparatively obscure men. The 
Cabinet as a whole was not a strong one. Gallatin was the 
only man in it of first-class ability. The majority of the mem- 
bers did fairly well, but Smith was decidedly weak as Secretary 
of State. He was succeeded by James Monroe in 1811. 

315. Foreign Affairs were in a Sad Condition. — It was 
unfortunate that Madison made such a weak appointment as 



James Madison. 

One of the most useful men in Amer- 
ican history. Born in Virginia in 
1751, he was graduated from Prince- 
ton, served in the legislature of his 
state and in Congress, was Secretary 
of State, and twice President of the 
United States. Wrote many able po- 
litical papers, and kept a record of 
the proceedings of the Constitutional 
Convention. He died in 1836. 



THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


271 


Secretary of State. At the close of Jefferson’s administration 
it was evident to every one that our foreign affairs would be of 
supreme importance ; and it must have been equally evident 
that Robert Smith was not the man to manage them. Gallatin 
was the man best fitted for the position, but intrigues and 
jealousies unfortunately prevented his appointment. 

Our foreign affairs were in a deplorable condition at the 
close of Jefferson’s administration. Great Britain and France 
were making depredations upon American commerce which the 
United States was powerless to prevent. The Embargo Act 
had proved a flat failure and had been repealed ; the Non- 
intercourse Act, which was never effective, expired early in 
1810; and other retaliatory legislation had proved to be of no 
avail. Diplomacy, too, had failed, and the country was drifting 
rapidly toward war. 

Madison was a man of peace, but the Republican leaders 
were bent upon war, and he was not able to hold them 

Madison 

in check. Some of the younger men of the party were favored 
especially anxious for war. This was true of John C. 

Calhoun of South Carolina and of Henry Clay of Kentucky, 
who were destined at a future time to play important parts in 
American politics. 

As we look back upon the negotiations of these calhoun^ 
years, after the lapse of a century, it is not clear why 
the United States chose to declare war against Great 
Britain rather than France. As far as the depredations upon 
our commerce were concerned, the two nations were equally 
blamable. It was clear, however, that it would not 

There 

be wise to declare war against both. Such a declara- as much 
tion would be ridiculous, if not disastrous. By com- deciaring^^ 
mon consent of a majority of the Republican leaders 
England was singled out for vengeance. A trace of against 

^ ^ ^.11 Britain. 

the old hatred yet remained, and the possible conquest 
of Canada appealed strongly to many. The tone of the West 
was particularly warlike, and Madison, man of peace though he 
was, was no longer able to control his party. 


272 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


316 . War was declared against Great Britain on June 18, 
1812. — War was declared on June 18, 1812, by a vote of seventy- 
nine to forty-nine in the House, and by a vote of nineteen to 
thirteen in the Senate. The greater part of the vote in favor 
of war came from the South and West. The Federalists and a 
few’ Republicans voted against the declaration, and the former 
issued an address to the people in which they stated the grounds 
of their opposition. They held that the main object of the war 
was the conquest of Canada and not the redress of commercial 
grievances. They also tried to excuse England and to place 
a large part of the blame upon France. It was unfortunate that 
the United States was thus obliged to enter upon an important 
war without the support of all sections of the country. 

317 . There were Four Important Causes of the War. — The 
causes of the War of 1812 may be summed up under four heads : 
(i) The inciting of the Indians by the English to commit out- 
rages upon the Americans ; (2) the depredations upon Ameri- 
can commerce ; (3) the blockade of our ports by British 
cruisers; and (4) the impressment of American seamen. These 
grievances were very humiliating, and war would have resulted 
from them at an earlier date if the United States had not been 
in its infancy as a nation. 

318 . Great Britain was apparently Much Stronger than the 
United States in 1812. — The military strength of the United 
States at the time was in striking contrast to that of England. 
The United States had 7,250,000 people, Great Britain had 
18,500,000; the regular army of the United States was com- 
posed of 6700 men, while the regular army of Great Britain 
was fighting successfully against the vast armies of Napoleon; 
the American navy was made up of 12 small boats with 5500 
men, while the British had 830 superior vessels with 150,000 
seamen. In addition to this, experience and war spirit both 
seemed to favor the British, and in financial resources England 
was tenfold stronger. On the other hand, it was plain that the 
war would be fought along the Canadian border. This fact was 
favorable to the United States. 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


273 


The War, 1812 

319. Americans won Brilliant Victories on Sea but failed on 
Land. — The War of 1812, on the American side, is character- 
ized by failures on land and by brilliant victories on sea. The 
American army was made up, for the most part, of raw 
recruits, hastily gathered together, without experience or train- 
ing. Such an army as this could not hope to contend success- 
fully against England’s veteran forces. The American navy, 
on the other hand, was manned by natural seamen, — fishermen 
from Newfoundland and elsewhere, — who proved to be excel- 
lent fighters. The Yankee sailor was alert, bold, and quick to 
act. He was a natural mechanic, a good gunner, and a superior 
tactician. But even with all this his victories were more than 
unexpected, they were astounding.” 

320. Canada was invaded, but the Expeditions proved Failures. 
— The project of invading Canada seemed to be uppermost in 
the minds of the Americans, and two expeditions were planned 
against the British possessions. One was to cross the Detroit 
River at Detroit, and the other the Niagara River at Buffalo. 
In July of 1812, less than a month after war had been declared. 
General Hull led the first of these two expeditions into Canada. 
Almost no preparation had been made for the invasion, and it 
ended, as might have been expected, in failure. In August 
General Hull surrendered to the British commander. General 
Brock, without striking a blow. 

The second expedition likewise failed. In October the Amer- 
icans, under General Van Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara 
River and were defeated at Queenstown, a short distance below 
the Falls. The land campaigns of the first year of the war all 
ended disastrously for the Americans. 

321. Naval Battles. — In regard to the naval battles, however, 
there is a different story to tell. Although England was the 
‘‘ mistress of the seas,” she suffered a series of decisive defeats 
on the ocean at the hands of the Americans. On the 13th of 



274 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


275 


August Captain Porter, in command of the EsseXy captured 
the British sloop Alert without the loss of a man. _ 

The fight lasted eight minutes, and when the Alert Essex cap- 
was taken there were seven feet of water in her British 
hold. 

Six days later a still more brilliant victory was won. The 
American frigate ConstitutioHy under Captain Isaac Hull, cap- 
tured the British frigate Guerrihe after a fight of The Oon. 
half an hour. In less than thirty minutes from the captured the 
time we got alongside the enemy,” said Hull, she 
was left without a spar standing, and the hull cut 
to pieces in such a manner as to make it difficult to keep 
her above water.” This victory,” says Henry Adams, the 
American historian, ‘Haised the United States in one-half hour 
to the rank of a first-class power.” The news of the capture 
and destruction of the Gueri'iere was received with especial 
delight in the United States because that boat had been particu- 
larly active in the searching of American vessels. 


1813 

322. Commodore Perry won a Brilliant Victory on Lake Erie. — 

The year 1813 was one of mingled joys and sorrows. In 
January a company of Kentucky troops, under General Win- 
chester, attempted to recapture Detroit, but was defeated at 
Frenchtown on the River Raisin, in Michigan. 

General William Henry Harrison, the hero of the battle of 
Tippecanoe, met with better success. He was anxious to pass 
from northern Ohio into Canada, byway of Detroit, but was not 
able to do so while the British controlled Lake Erie. Com- 
modore Perry came to his assistance by winning the brilliant 
battle of Lake Erie on the loth of September, 1813. Perry was 
but twenty-seven years of age at the time, and was fighting 
against the veteran Captain Barclay, who had seen service under 
Nelson at Trafalgar. Perry’s victory was complete and decisive, 
and his dispatch to Harrison thrilled the nation: ‘‘We have 


276 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one 
schooner, and one sloop. Yours with very great respect and 
esteem, O. H. Perry.’' 

Now that the way was clear Harrison passed Detroit, pene- 
trated Canada, and defeated the British in the battle of the 
Thames on October 5, 1813. 

323. The Chesapeake was captured by the British Shannon. — 

On the ocean also defeats were mingled with victories. The 
most notable contest was that between the American frigate 
Chesapeake and the British Shannon. The boats met off Boston 
early in June, 1813, with Captain Lawrence in command of the 
American vessel, and Captain Broke in command of the British. 
In the course of the engagement the gallant Captain Lawrence 
was mortally wounded, but called out to his men while being 
carried below : “ Don’t give up the ship ! Keep the guns 
going ! Fight her till she sinks ! ” The American boat was 
captured and taken to Halifax, but the dying command of 
Lawrence, “ Don’t give up the ship ! ” has become an American 
battle cry which will never be forgotten. 


1814 

324. MacDonough defeated the British off Plattsburg. — In 

the following year the Americans again tried to invade Canada, 
and again they met with only partial success. In July they 
won the battles of Chippewa and Lundy’s Lane near Niagara, 
but in the fall the troops were withdrawn, and little was 
accomplished. 

A victory on Lake Champlain revived the drooping spirit of 
the Americans. The British were planning an invasion of New 
York, and had placed a fleet on Lake Champlain to cooperate 
with the land forces. Commodore Thomas MacDonough, of 
the American fleet, succeeded in defeating the British off 
Plattsburg in September, after a hard-fought contest. 

325. Washington was taken and the Capitol burned. — In the 
meantime the Atlantic coast was being ravaged by the British. 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


277 


In August they appeared before Washington, and, after a 
feeble resistance by General Winder, the city was taken. The 
President and members of the Cabinet fled, and the Capitol, 
White House, and other public buildings were destroyed. It 
should be said, however, that the English people did not ap- 
prove of this wanton destruction of property. One English 
paper remarked, '' The Cossacks spared Paris, but we spared 
not the Capitol of America.” 

326. Andrew Jackson defeated the British at New Orleans 
after the Treaty of Peace had been made. — The British, later in 
the year, planned an attack on New Orleans. Here, however, 
they met a very determined resistance on the part of Andrew 
Jackson, the hardy Indian fighter. The British made the attack 
on Jackson on the 8th of January, 1815, and were repulsed with 
great loss. This victory was won, however, after the treaty of 
peace had been made. 

327. The Hartford Convention. — The sentiment in New Eng- 
land against the war was always strong and was increased by 
the victories of the British. It was said that the war was not 
a just one, but was being waged for the conquest of territory. 
It was certainly injuring the commerce of New England. One 
result of this opposition to the war was the famous Hartford 
Convention of 1814. On December 15 of that year delegates 
from all of the New England states met at Hartford, Connecti- 
cut. It was feared that New England might with- 
draw and that the union might be disrupted, but no lan^ 
such action was taken. The convention adjourned war^of^^ 
on January 14, 1815, and then published a report of JhrLfened 
its proceedings. Some amendments to the Constitu- to with- 

^ , draw 

tion were urged, and it was insisted that the states from the 
should be allowed to retain the customs duties col- 
lected within their borders. It was intimated that the states 
might secede from the union in case their demands were not 
complied with. A committee was appointed to lay the remon- 
strance before Congress, but peace had been made in the mean- 
time and nothing came of the movement. 


278 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


328. The War closed with the Peace of Ghent, August 8, 
1814. — On August 8, 1814, British and American representa- 
tives met at Ghent to discuss terms of peace, and a treaty was 
signed on December 24 following — two weeks before Andrew 
Jackson won his memorable victory at New OrleansA The 
terms of the treaty are not important. Things were left very 
much as they were before the war. Since peace had been 
made between France and England there was no longer any 
cause for attacks upon our commerce, and the impressment of 
American seamen had also ceased. The grievances had been 
removed in the natural course of events and were not mentioned 
in the treaty. 

It was agreed that the conquered territory should be mutually 
restored. 

Therefore, at first thought it would seem that nothing what- 
ever was gained by the Americans by the War of 
1812. It is true that no territory was gained and 
that American rights were not clearly defined in the 
treaty ; but the war served to unite the nation and 
to gain for it the wholesome respect of all Europe. 
The victories of Hull, Perry, and Jackson will not soon be 
forgotten. 

329. Domestic Affairs. — Although the war was the principal 
event of interest in the administrations of President Madison, 
there were a few other matters of importance which should be 
noted. 

It will be recalled that through the efforts of Hamilton, 
a United States bank was chartered for twenty 
years in 1791. The bank was a success, and in 18 ii 
an effort was made to renew the charter. The old 
opposition, however, sprang up in the Republican 
ranks and the attempt failed. In 1816 Mr. Clay, 
then Speaker of the House, and other influential 
leaders took up the matter, and the bank was rechartered for 

^ If the ocean cable and the telegraph had been in existence, the loss of life at 
New Orleans might have been saved. 


No im- 
portant 
changes 
were made 
by the 
war. 


Bank was 
rechartered 
in 1816 for 
twenty 
years. 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


279 



another term of twenty years. Its capital stock was to be 
;^35,ooo,ooo, one fifth of which was to be owned by the 
government. 

In 1816 the first protective tariff measure was passed. The 
bill was intended not only as a source of revenue, but as a pro- 
tection to American in- 

1 . • T T % The first 

dustries. Henry Clay, protective 

‘Hhe father of the pro- 

i measure 

tective policy,” was its was passed 

chief advocate, but the 
measure was favored by Calhoun 
and signed by Madison. Web- 
ster opposed it. The duties were 
not nearly so high as they are 
now, the highest being about 
thirty per cent. 

Taken as a whole, the period of 

Madison’s administrations was an 

era of progress. There had been 

an increase in national spirit and 

unity ; the population 
, , . 1 r Madison’s 

had increased from adminis- 

7,239,903 in 1810 to 

about 8,866,000 in 

’ ’ progress. 

1817; manufactures 
had sprung up ; shipping had re- 
vived ; transportation facilities 
had been somewhat improved; 
and a new era was dawning in 
literature. Washington Irving’s 
“Knickerbocker’s History of New 
York” had appeared in 1809, 
and Bryant’s “ Thanatopsis” had been published in an early num- 
ber of the A^orth Amaican Reviezv, which was founded in 1815. 

330 . Elections of 1812 and 1816. — In the fall of 1812 Madison 
was reelected President over DeWitt Clinton of New York, by 


Henry Clay. 

“The Great Pacificator” was born 
in Virginia in 1777, and died in 
Washington in 1852. He became a 
lawyer, a member of the Kentucky 
legislature, United States senator, 
Speaker of the House, and Secretary 
of State. He was a candidate for 
the Presidency several times, but 
was never elected. He was an advo- 
cate of protection and an orator 
of rare power. A monument has 
been erected to his memory in the 
cemetery at Lexington, Kentucky. 



28 o 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


a vote of one hundred and twenty-eight to eighty-nine. By 


i8i6 the 

The Fed- 
eralist 
party had 
practically 
disap- 
peared by 

i8i6. 


Federalist party had almost entirely disappeared. 
In the election of that year it carried only three 
states, — Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware. 
The Republicans nominated and elected James Mon- 
roe of Virginia, who had distinguished himself in the 
public service as a member of Madison’s Cabinet. 


James Monroe, 1817-1825 


331. Character of the President and of the Period. — James 
Monroe was well known when he became President in 



James Monroe. 

Monroe was born in 1758 in Virginia, 
not far from the birthplace of George 
Washington. He entered William 
and Mary College, but soon left to 
fight the battles of the Revolution. 
Although he opposed the adoption 
of the Constitution, he had an illus- 
trious public career. He served two 
terms as President. He died in 
New York City on July 4, 1831. 


1817. He had been a soldier in 
the Revolutionary army, a for- 
eign minister, a United States 
senator, governor of Virginia, 
and, more recently. Secretary of 
State and of War. His election 
was not the occasion of any great 
national excitement, as it was 
known that the Republican policy 
of Jefferson and Madison would 
be continued. These two illus- 
trious men, although in retirement, 
were expected to exercise, and 
actually did exercise, a marked in- 
fluence upon public affairs. How- 
ever, the policy of the Republi- 
can party had changed materially 
since the time of Washington. 
Many of the principles of the Fed- 
eralist party had been adopted. 


and the old doctrine of “strict 
construction ” of the Constitution had been practically aban- 
doned. In fact, Monroe might be looked upon as the repre- 
sentative of the people rather than of the Republican party. 



THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


281 


Monroe’s Presidency is an interesting and important period. 
It is sometimes called the ‘‘era of good feeling,” because the 
hatred caused by party strife had largely vanished. 

It is true that there was but one political party, yet the^“ era of 
there was much ill feeling, due to the fact that this f®®?, 
party was divided up into several factions. On the 
whole, however, good will prevailed. Business and commerce 
occupied men’s minds, and political animosities were crowded 



The Steamship “ Savannah.” 

This was the first steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She sailed from Savannah 
in June, 1819, and reached Liverpool in eighteen days. She used steam power 
only for seven days on the trip. When about to enter St. George’s Channel, near 
the coast of Ireland, the smoke from her funnel was spied by the commander of 
the British fleet, who, thinking the vessel on fire, sent two boats to her rescue. 
She was met by a large crowd at Liverpool and given an enthusiastic reception. 

out. Then, too, the West was being settled very rapidly, and 
this gave the people something to think of. The steamboat was 
plying on the inland waters and had already crossed the 
Atlantic. A constant stream of immigrants was coming from 
Europe into the West. The admission of new states into the 
union shows the rapidity with which this development was taking 





282 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


place. Indiana was admitted in 1816; Mississippi, in 1817; 
Illinois, in 1818; and Alabama, in 1819. 



A Type of Modern Transatlantic Steamship. 

This steamship, the Umbria^ is more than 500 feet long, nearly 50 feet wide, 
and about 40 feet deep. It forms a striking contrast to the Savannah, which 
is shown on page 281. The Umbria was built in 1884, and is itself much 
smaller than the largest boats of to-day. The Kaiserin Aiiguste Victoria^ 
for instance, built in 1905, is 705 feet long, 77 feet wide, and 54 feet deep. 


332. Monroe’s Cabinet was a Strong One. — Monroe began his 
administration well by appointing a strong Cabinet. Several 
of the members were men of marked ability. John Quincy 
Adams, son of the second President, was made Secretary of 
State; William H. Crawford of Georgia, a member of Madison’s 
Cabinet, was made Secretary of the Treasury; and John C. 
Calhoun of South Carolina, destined to be one of the foremost 
men in American history, was made Secretary of War. The 
President stood in need of all of the sound advice which his 
Cabinet could give, since our foreign affairs were still in an 
unsettled condition, and it was necessary to renew our com- 
mercial treaties, which had been broken off by the war. 



THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


283 


333 . Florida was purchased from Spain in 1819. — The pur- 
chase of Florida from Spain by the United States was one of 
the important events in Monroe’s administration. Since the 
purchase of the Louisiana territory from France in 1803, there 
had been a disagreement between Spain and the United States 
in regard to the boundary line between Florida and Louisiana. 
This was settled for all time by the purchase of Florida. Spain 
was not able to hold and to defend her American possessions, 
and accordingly ceded Florida to the United States by a treaty 
signed February 22, 1819. In this treaty the United States 
gave up all claim to Texas and agreed to pay five million dollars 
to American citizens for claims resulting from spoliations com- 
mitted by Spain. Florida thus became part of the territory of 
the United States, but was not admitted as a state until 1845. 

334 . The Monroe Doctrine was proclaimed in December, 
1823. — The most notable event in Monroe’s administration, 
and one of the most important events in American history, was 
the publication of the '‘Monroe Doctrine”, in December, 1823. 
Just at this time the Spanish colonies of South America were 
rebelling against the mother country and setting themselves up 
as independent republics. Republican governments had been 
established in all of the Spanish colonies of South America, 
and in 1822 their independence was recognized by the United 
States. Some of the European monarchies, who were natu- 
rally opposed to the spread of republican principles, 

joined in a so-called Holy Alliance and thought of Alliance 

interfering tor the purpose ot reducing the repub- to restore 

lies again to the power of Spain. John Quincy of%^a^n^^ 

Adams, the far-sighted Secretary of State, after con- 

ferring with some officers of the British government, in South 

America. 

came to the conclusion that it would not be wise 
to allow the nations of Europe to meddle with affairs on 
the American continents. He accordingly induced President 
Monroe to make a declaration in his message to Congress of the 
now famous “ Monroe Doctrine.” The doctrine consisted of 
two parts. In the first place the President declared that the 


284 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


American continents . . . are henceforth not to be considered 
as subjects for colonization by any European power.” He also 
declared in substance that the United States would not allow 
any European nation to interfere with the government of any 
republic established on American soil. The protest had the 
desired effect, and the plans of the European monarchies were 
never carried out. The Monroe Doctrine ” has been enforced 
in several instances and continues to be an important part of 
American policy. 

335 . Clay favored a Protective Tariff; Webster opposed it. 
The Tariff of 1824. — The tariff law of 1816 had not produced 
satisfactory results, and on May 22, 1824, another act was 
passed. Clay was again the most outspoken champion of a 
protective tariff, while Webster was opposed to that policy. He 
declared “ freedom of trade to be the general principle, and 
restriction the exception.” The South now opposed the tariff, 
while the Central and Western states and a part of New England 
favored it. The new measure increased the duties on iron, 
wool, hemp, and, to some extent, on woolen and cotton goods. 
The general average of the duties was thirty-seven per cent in 
1824 as against twenty-five per cent in 1816. 

336 . Lafayette visited the United States in 1824 and was 
received with Great Honor. — In May, 1824, Congress sent an 
invitation to the Marquis de Lafayette to visit the United States 
as “ the nation’s guest.” The invitation was gratefully accepted, 
and Lafayette remarked that he would visit America, ‘The 
beloved land,” as an ''adopted son,” which he did in the fall of 
1824. He had been a personal friend of President Monroe 
when the two men were serving in the Revolutionary army, 
hence his reception by the head of the American Republic was 
a most cordial one. He was received by the people everywhere 
with respect and enthusiasm. 

337 . Adams, Crawford, Jackson, and Clay are Candidates for 
the Presidency. Adams is elected by the House of Representa- 
tives, 1824. — In the fall of 1820 Monroe was reelected by an 
almost unanimous vote. He received two hundred and thirty- 


THE PERIOD OF REPUBLICAN CONTROL 


285 


one votes and John Quincy Adams received one. An elector 
from New Hampshire, desiring that Washington should be the 
only President to have the honor of a unanimous election, voted 
for Adams. 

Four years later, however, there was no such unanimity. In 
1824 there were four important candidates for the Presidency. 
These were John Quincy Adams, William H. Crawford, Henry 
Clay, and Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans. John C. 
Calhoun was a candidate at one time, but contented himself with 
an election to the Vice Presidency. There were no great politi- 
cal issues at stake and each candidate had his personal and local 
following. Jackson received ninety-nine votes ; Adams, eighty- 
four ; Crawford, forty-one ; and Clay, thirty-seven. As no can- 
didate had received a majority of the votes in the electoral 
college, it devolved upon the House of Representatives to 
choose a President from the three highest on the list. Clay 
was thus left out, and the House proceeded to ballot on the 
other three names. Adams was elected by the influence of 
Clay, much to the chagrin of Jackson and his friends. A short 
time after, he appointed Clay Secretary of State, and it was 
promptly charged that Clay had sold his influence to Adams for 
a position in the Cabinet. There was a great deal of talk of a 
“ corrupt bargain ’’ between the two men, but it is fair to say 
that both Adams and Clay denied the charge, and that no evi- 
dence has ever been produced to sustain it. 

338 . Death of Monroe, 1831. — Monroe was sixty-seven years 
of age when he laid down the cares of his office. He lived 
for six years after his retirement, and died on the 4th of July, 
1831, in New York. He was buried there with honors befitting 
an ex-President of the United States. In 1858, the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of his birth, his ashes were removed to Rich- 
mond with military honors, and there buried in the soil of his 
native state. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1801-1809. Jefferson’s Administrations. 

1803. Louisiana Purchase. 


286 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


FACTS AND DATES (Continued) 

1769. Steam Engine Invented. 

1807. First Successful Steamboat (Fulton’s). 

1807. Embargo Act. 

1806-1807. Burr Conspiracy. 

1808. Slave Trade Abolished. 

1809-1817. Madison’s Administrations. 
1812-1814. Second War with Great Britain. 
1814. Hartford Convention. 

1816. First Protective Tariff Act. 

1817-1825. Monroe’s Administrations. 

1819. Purchase of Florida. 

1823. Monroe Doctrine. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


» 

THE SECOND ADAMS 


1825-1829 



339. John Quincy Adams seemed an Ideal President in 1825. — 

When John Quincy Adams became President of the United 
States in 1825, he seemed the 
ideal man for the place. He was 
well-educated, honest, and fear- 
less ; he had had a large and 
successful experience in public 
affairs as foreign minister. United 
States senator, and Cabinet mem- 
ber; and had shown himself to 
be a broad-minded man of untir- 
ing industry. He was ‘‘a knight 
without fear and without re- 
proach,” and it is safe to say that 
no other man in America in 1825 

possessed, in an equal degree, the 

1 ^ . • 1 1 -n. • John Quincy Adams 

characteristics of an ideal Presi- 


dent. Yet his administration was, 
in some respects, a disappoint- 
ment. He was bitterly opposed 
by personal and political enemies, 
and was defeated for reelection 


The “ Old Man Eloquent ” was born 
in Massachusetts in 1767, and died 
in Washington, D.C., in 1848. He 
studied at the University of Leyden, 
and was graduated from Harvard. 
He soon became a distinguished 
lawyer and statesman. For three 
years he was a professor in Harvard, 


in 1828. 


and at one time or another he held 
almost all of the great ofBces in 


340. Internal Improvements United States. He was an excel- 
, lent writer in both prose and verse. 

were much Discussed. — There 


had been a growing demand for some time for the construction 
of roads and the improvement of waterways, but some doubted 





288 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Adams 
and Clay 
advocated 
internal 
improve- 
ments at 
national 
expense. 


the power of Congress, under the Constitution, to appropriate 
money for these purposes. Every one was in favor of better 
transportation facilities, but many believed that the improve- 
ments should be made by the states or by private enterprise. 
The recent westward expansion had strengthened this demand 
for roads and canals. Sums of money had been appropriated 
by Congress for the purpose from time to time, but Madison 
and Monroe had used the veto power to keep such appropria- 
tions within bounds. 

Adams, however, was more friendly to such expenditures, and 
in his inaugural address he advocated the building of roads and 
canals by the general government. Clay was of the 
same mind, but Calhoun, who favored the idea in 
i8i6, had come to the conclusion in 1822 that Con- 
gress did not have the power to use the public money 
in this way. During the administration of Adams 
$2,310,000 were appropriated by Congress for inter- 
nal improvements. There was much opposition, however, and 
the policy did not grow in favor. 

341 . The Erie Canal, 1825, helped to open up the West. — In 
the meantime the various states were making improvements on 
their own account. The most notable of these was the construc- 
tion of the Erie Canal by the state of New York. This impor- 
tant waterway extended from Buffalo to Albany, and ‘‘ reduced 
transportation charges to a little over one tenth their former fig- 
ures.” It was finished in 1825 and aided wonderfully in the 
development of the West. It is still an important highway of 
commerce. 

342 . The Removal of the Creeks and Cherokees. — In 1827 
and 1828 the enemies of Adams in Congress took occasion to 

humiliate him’ before the people. The people of 
Georgia were trying to remove the Creek and Cher- 
okee Indians from their state in order to secure the 
land in the Indian reservations. President Adams 
objected and attempted to protect the Indians in their 
rights. The result was an open conflict between the 


Congress 
did not 
support 
the Presi- 
dent in 
his con- 
test with 
Georgia. 


THE SECOND ADAMS 


289 


governor of Georgia and the President of the United States. 
Although the position which Adams had taken was the correct 
one, Congress refused to support him, and Governor Troup of 
Georgia successfully defied the authority of the national 
government. 



The Erie Canal, 1825. 

The most important waterway of its kind in the United States. 
It was commenced in 1817 and finished eight years later. It 
was due to the energy of Governor De Witt Clinton of New York 
that the canal was pushed across the state from Albany and 
Troy to Buffalo, a distance of three hundred and sixty-three 
miles, a large part of it through a dense wilderness. The 
value of property along the line of the canal has greatly 
increased, and the state has received a large revenue from tolls. 


343 . The Tariff Act of 1828. — The Tariff Act of 
tended to make President Adams unpopular in some 
There was a demand on the part of the manufacturers 
for still greater protection, and a new tariff bill was 
framed. The lines were now quite clearly drawn in 
regard to the protective policy. Manufacturing had 
come to be the most important industry in New Eng- 
land, hence that section was in favor of the protective 


1828 also 
quarters. 


The North 
favored 
the pro- 
tective 
tariff, while 
the South 
opposed it. 


290 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


tariff. In the South, on the other hand, there were very few 
factories, and the people opposed the tariff because it made 
them pay more for the manufactured goods which they bought. 

The tariff bill of 1828, however, was not discussed and passed 
on its merits. It has been well called '‘the tariff of abomina- 
tions.” The bill was not carefully drawn, and it raised the 
duties on some articles to a ridiculously high figure. 

The tariff 7 o 

of 1828 The duty on wool, for example, was raised from thirty 
high du-^^ per cent to about seventy per cent. The bill passed 
both houses of Congress and was signed by President 
Adams on May 24, 1828. The measure did not represent the 
sober judgment of the people of the United States. It was 
intended to embarrass the President, and to help to defeat him 
for reelection. John Randolph was not far wrong when he 
said, “ The bill referred to manufactures of no sort or 
kind except the manufacture of a President of the United 
States.” In the light of these facts it is not easy to 
see why President Adams signed the bill at all. A 
partial explanation may be found in the fact that he 
was in favor of the American or protective system, 
and believed that the measure of 1828 was better than 
nothing. It was also hoped that the act would be so 
amended as to remove some of the “ abominations.” This was 
afterward done. 

P'ive Southern states at once protested against the act, and 
John C. Calhoun became the spokesman of the opposition. He 
was very decided in his views. He even went so far 

Od-lhotin ^ 

protested 2.S to advise South Carolina to declare the act " null 
fh^Tariff. void within the limits of the state.” He would 

thus defy the authority of the federal government. 
The ghost of the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions seemed to 
be reappearing, and Webster expressed the opinion that a new 
confederacy would be formed in the South. 

344 . The Election of 1828. — Adams was not seated in the 
Presidential chair before preparations were being made for the 
election of 1828. His administration was simply “a long- 


Adams 
made a 
mistake 
in signing 
the “ tariff 
of abomi- 
nations.” 


THE SECOND ADAMS 


291 


drawn Presidential campaign.” Jackson and his friends held 
that he was the choice of the people for the Presidency in 1824, 
but that he was beaten out of the office by underhanded work. 
They therefore planned revenge. There were no great political 
principles at stake, but ‘‘ Adams men ” were pitted 
against “Jackson men.” Adams was an honest, able, ^st 
and high-minded man, but his opponents availed 
themselves of every opportunity to bring him into Jack- 

^ ^ ^ son was 

disfavor. The issue was largely a personal one a personal 
between the two men. There was much talk of the 
tariff and internal improvements as campaign issues, but no 
one really knew what Jackson thought in regard to either, and 
no one seemed to care. “ Hurrah for Jackson ” and “Turn the 
rascals out ” were the effective war cries in 1828. 

The Adams administration, however, was not free from fault. 
The President had signed the worst tariff measure ever framed 
in the United States, and he had not managed our 
foreign affairs with success. Then, too, his Cabinet 
appointments were not strong. Clay, as Secretary of some mis- 
State, was an able man. He was a genuine American 
and a captivating orator. This “ lion-hearted knight ” of Ameri- 
can statesmen swayed his audiences with a “voice as winning 
as the sirens’ song.” Yet the appointment of Clay gave rise, as 
we have seen, to much adverse criticism. Aside from Clay, Wil- 
liam Wirt was the only man in the Cabinet of first-rate ability. 

Then again the personality of Jackson must be taken into 
account. “Old Hickory,” as he was affectionately called, was 
absolutely honest and upright in all his dealings. He 
may have lacked refinement, but no one ever ques- ^a^g^Trude 
tioned his integrity. He represented also a new force 
in American politics. Up to this time the Presidents 
had been chosen from the old aristocratic states, — from Vir- 
ginia and Massachusetts. They represented the culture and 
refinement of the seaboard. Jackson, the rough-and-ready son 
of the West, represented a new element. He was the expo- 
nent of that Western democracy which was destined to over- 


292 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


New par- 
ties were 
formed. 


whelm the aristocracy of the East. It was upon this rising tide 
that Andrew Jackson rode into office in 1828. 

We noted the disappearance of political parties during Mon- 
roe’s Presidency. In the time of Adams party lines were 
drawn anew. The followers of Clay and Adams 
called themselves National Republicans,” while the 
Jackson men were known as the ‘‘ Democratic Repub- 
licans ” and later as the Democrats.” The National Repub- 
licans may be looked upon, in a general way, as the descendants 
of the Federalist party, while the Democratic Republicans 
represent the party of Jefferson. 

Jackson carried the West and South, and was elected over 
Adams by a vote of one hundred and seventy-eight to 

Jackson o 

defeated eighty-three. The popular vote showed a closer con- 
test. Jackson had six hundred and fifty thousand 
votes against five hundred thousand for Adams. 


345. Adams ends his Days in the House of Representatives. — 

Soon after retiring from the Presidency, Adams was elected a 
member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts 
(§ 392)- He held this position until the time of his death, 
and became known as ‘‘the old man eloquent” and as a fearless 
champion of antislavery petitions. He was stricken with his 
last illness while attending a session of the House, on February 
21, 1848. “The stern old fighter lay dying almost on the very 
field of so many battles and in the very tracks in which he had 
so often stood erect and unconquerable, taking and dealing so 
many mighty blows.” He passed away two days later, and lies 
buried “under the portal of the church at Quincy.” 


FACTS AND DATES 

1825-1829. John Quincy Adams’s Administration. 
1825. Completion of Erie Canal. 

1828. Tariff of Abominations. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

1829-1841 

346 . A New National Era begins with Jackson’s Administra- 
tion. — In taking up our study of the administration of Andrew 
Jackson, we are brought face to face with a new era in Amer- 
ican history. The colonial days had passed, and the national 
period was in reality just beginning. This was true, as we 
shall soon see, not only in politics and government, but in com- 
merce and industry as well. 

We noted in the last chapter that a new force had appeared 
in American politics. In the election of 1828 the democratic 
spirit of the West and South had triumphed over the 
aristocracy of the East. It was felt that the plain had tri- 

. umphed 

people” had at last come into possession of the over the 
government. This rise of the common people made 
many changes — some good and some bad — in the govern- 
ment of the United States. 

The older statesmen who had been associated with the forma- 
tion of the Constitution and the beginning of the 
government had now, for the most part, passed away. ^of^the 
Washington, Hamilton, John Adams, and Jefferson Constitu- 
were dead. Madison, Monroe, and Gallatin were still passed 
living, but no longer took an active part in politics, j^dtsoif,^^ 
Chief Justice John Marshall was the only statesman 
of the old school who remained in office, and he, too, ^ 

and Web- 

was destined soon to pass off the scene. The lead- ster were 

. ^ , A 1 T 1 1 the men 

mg men ot the new era were Andrew Jackson, the of the hour, 
frontier statesman ; Martin Van Buren, the polished 

293 


294 


AMERICAN HISrORY AND GOVERNMENT 


gentleman and shrewd politician ; Henry Clay, the father of the 
American protective system; and John C. Calhoun and Daniel 
Webster, the great expounders of the Constitution. 

In this new era national questions took the place of colonial 
ones. The tariff, the United States Bank, the Indians, inter- 
nal improvements, and, above all, the slavery question were 
soon to absorb the attention of the nation. 

347. The “Spoils System” originated in Jackson’s Time. — 

The new era also brought new 
political methods. The so-called 
“Spoils System” originated at 
this time. Before Jackson’s ad- 
ministration, faithful and capable 
men were kept in office, for the 
most part, without regard to the 
political party to which they be- 
longed. Jackson and his friends, 
however, introduced a new order 
of things. They looked upon the 
officeholders of 1828 as dishonest 
men, and proceeded to “turn the 
rascals out.” Jackson also wished 
to give the offices to his political 
and personal friends in return for 
their services. He therefore pro- 
ceeded to “reward his friends and 
punish his enemies ” with a ven- 
geance. He believed in the doc- 
trine that “to the victors belong the spoils,” and thought, no 
doubt, that he was improving the public service by making a 
“clean sweep.” During the first year of his Presidency he re- 
moved over two thousand men from office and replaced them 
with his political friends. All of his predecessors in the Presi- 
dential office had removed only about one hundred and fifty 
men, and his immediate predecessor, John Quincy Adams, had 
removed only five, and even these were not removed for politi- 



Andrew Jackson. 

“The Hero of New Orleans” was 
born in North Carolina in 1767. He 
fought in the Revolution when he was 
fourteen years of age. Later he be- 
came a lawyer. He served in the 
House and Senate, and became famous 
as a frontier soldier. He was President 
for two terms. He died in 1845. 




THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 


295 


cal reasons. ‘‘We give no reason for our removals,” said Mar- 
tin Van Buren, the new Secretary of State. Yet the reasons 
were evident. Said John Quincy Adams in his diary, “The 
appointments are exclusively of violent partisans, and every 
editor of a scurrilous and slanderous newspaper is provided 
for.” It is only fair to say, however, that in making these 
wholesale removals Jackson was following a practice already 
begun in some of the states. 

In making these appointments Jackson made many serious 
mistakes. In the first place, it is wrong in principle to remove 
capable men and experienced officers and to put inexperienced 
men in their places. It is not good business common sense. In 
the second place, in making the appointments, Jackson was com- 
pelled to rely largely upon the advice of his friends. He was 
deceived in too many instances and made some very bad 
appointments. The result was that a large number of frauds 
and scandals are connected with his administration, 

j3.cksoii 

although he was himself absolutely honest. The was not 
scandals of Jackson’s administration, however, are Mame^^for 
not the worst result of the Spoils System. The 
evil effects did not end with Jackson. They have 
continued, and exist to some extent at the present time. By 
introducing the Spoils System, Jackson and his friends injected 
a new element into American politics. Succeeding Presidents 
unfortunately followed Jackson’s example, but in recent years 
our civil service laws have given some protection to the 
capable and honest officeholder. It no longer seems to us 
to be good policy to have a new set of officers every four 
years. 

348. Restrictions on Voting were removed. — Under the new 
democracy there was also a movement to increase the number 
of voters. In colonial times the right to vote was restricted for 
the most part to landholders and taxpayers. T.he tendency 
now was toward manhood suffrage. In 1837 New Jersey and 
Connecticut were the only Northern states which retained a 
property qualification for voting, and Ohio was the only Western 


2q6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


state to do so. In the South the restrictions had not been 
removed. 

349. American Industries were revolutionized. — The changes 
in our political life were far-reaching, but the industrial changes 
of the new era were no less important. The decade extending 
from 1830 to 1840 has been called the period of the “American 
Industrial Revolution.” The chief cause of this industrial 
revolution was the application of steam power to manufacturing 
and transportation. Steam power was now taking the place of 
hand power and horse power on the highway as well as in the 





1 'n ^ 


' 1 i 1 1 


“The Best Friend,” the First Locomotive built in the United States 

FOR Actual Service on a Railroad. 


This locomotive was doing actual service on the South Carolina Railroad, 
chiefly in constructing the road, in the latter part of 1830. The picture 
represents a trip which was made on the first anniversary of the commence- 
ment of the road. It was a gala day. According to the Cha 7 'leston 
Courier of January 17, 1831, “A band of music enlivened the scene, 
and great hilarity and good-humor prevailed throughout the day.” 


factory. A wonderful series of inventions were also being made 
at this time. Fulton had applied steam power to navigation as 
early as 1807, and the steamboat was being successfully used 
on the lakes and rivers. In 1814 George Stephenson, an Eng- 
lishman, had invented the locomotive, but it did not come into 
use in the United States until 1829. 

350. The Railroad appeared in 1829 . — The railroad proved a 
mighty force-in the development of the United States. It con- 
solidated the country, thus making it easier to govern ; it made it 
possible to transport agricultural and manufactured products 
from place to place ; and it broadened men’s minds and views 


THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 


297 


by bringing them into contact with the men and views of other 
localities. Travel always has an important educational effect. 

On July 4, 1828, Charles Carroll of Maryland, a 
signer of the Declaration of Independence, drove the 
first spike of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and was the 

fifst iix 

said that he considered it one of the most important the United 
events of his life. This was the first railroad in the 
United States built for freight and passengers. At first, horse 



Fast Express Train of To-day. 


What a difference between this train, which runs about fifty miles an hour, and 
the train hauled by “The Best Friend ” at the rate of about four miles an hour ! 


power was used, but in 1829 a Stephenson locomotive was im- 
ported from England. In 1832 seventy-three miles of the road 
were completed, and the iron horse was making fifteen miles per 
hour. In 1830 we had in the United States only twenty-three 
miles of railroad, but in 1840 there were almost three thousand 
miles. At the present time there are more than two hundred 
thousand miles of railway in the United States — more than in 
any other country. 




298 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


V 


351. Important Inventions were made. — While the railroad 
was probably the most important, it was not the only great inven- 
tion of this era. In 1838 ocean-going steamboats were success- 
fully used, and the screw propeller was invented to take the 
place of the paddle wheel at about the same time. Anthracite 
coal was successfully used in the manufacture of iron and the 
production of steam, and powerful labor-saving machines, such 
as the steam hammer and the reaper, were invented. The fric- 
tion match also, a humble but important invention, dates from 
this period. In fact, the inventions of this era were so numerous 
and so important that the patent office at Washington was made 
a separate bureau in 1836. Corporations, monopolies, and labor 
organizations sprang up as a result of this industrial activity. 

352. The South did not prosper as the North and West did. — 
It should be noted here that the South did not share to any 
great extent in this industrial prosperity. The application of 
steam power did not revolutionize matters in that locality. The 
South was an agricultural section. It could never make much 
progress in manufacturing while it depended upon slave labor. 
The railroad, it is true, aided in the advancement of the South, 
but not to the extent that it did of the North and West. 

353. Population. — The population of the country increased 
from thirteen millions in 1830 to seventeen millions in 1840, but 

the older states of the South had increased but little, 
crease of if at all, in that time. The new Southern states had 
increased in population, and so had the states of the 
West was North, and the increase in the West was enormous. 

Ohio had increased more than sixty per cent ; Indiana 
had doubled her population ; while that of Michigan had increased 
five hundred and seventy per cent. There was a vast emigration 
at this time from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, 
Kentucky, and Virginia to the new states of Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois. These people, for the most part, were opposed to 
slavery, and were seeking homes in the free states. 

354. A Remarkable Group of Writers appeared. — The new 
era was also accompanied by a new literature. The most tal- 



Cincinnati, about 1830. 

Cincinnati was one of the most important commercial centers in the West, and 
the steamboat was becoming an important factor in the commerce of the great rivers. 






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4 


THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 299 

ented group of writers which the United States has ever pro- 
duced appeared at this time. The writings of Hawthorne began 
to appear in 1828, those of Poe in 1829, and of Whittier in 
1831. Longfellow began to publish in 1833, and Emerson and 
Holmes in 1836. The historical work of Bancroft began to 
appear in 1834 and Lowell’s early poems in 1841. Prescott, 
the author of the delightful volumes on the conquests of Mexico 
and Peru, began at this time to write essays for the North Ameri- 
can Review. The legal works of Kent and Story were appear- 
ing, Wheaton was writing on international law, Francis Lieber 
on politics, Henry C. Carey on political economy, and Asa Gray 
on botany. It was in 1838 also that James Smithson founded 
the now famous Smithsonian Institution in Washington. 

Carlyle was right when he wrote to Emerson, ^Wou are a new 
era, my man, in your huge country.” There was a new era in 
the United States in government, industry, literature, and national 
spirit. In education, also, there was an awakening. Colleges were 
improved ; high schools, academies, and grammar schools were 
increased in number and improved in quality of work done. 

355 . Jackson’s Cabinet was not a Strong One.— Jackson began 
his administration in his usual independent manner. He domi- 
nated the entire government. It was easy for him to do this, 
as his Cabinet was, with two exceptions, made up of very ordi- 
nary men. The ablest and the most influential man in the 
Cabinet was Martin Van Buren, the Secretary of State. Van 
Buren had just been elected governor of New York, and was 
a power in the politics of that important state. He was a man 
of refinement, a skilled politician, and a good manager of men, 
but hardly a great statesman. Aside from William Wirt of Vir- 
ginia, Van Buren was the only man of ability and reputation in 
the Cabinet. This, however, was a matter of little importance 
to Jackson, as he rarely called a Cabinet meeting, but was 
accustomed to rely instead upon the advice of a few intimate 
friends, whom the newspapers of the time called his Kitchen 
Cabinet.” These men were shrewd political managers, but were 
politicians rather than statesmen. 


300 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


356 . Jackson’s Programme. — Although the Democratic party 
had come into power without a definite platform, Jackson was 
not the kind of man whose views on public questions could long 
remain unknown. It soon became evident that the new Presi- 
dent was in favor of a strict construction of the Constitution, 
and as a result of this view was opposed in general to internal 
improvements, the protective tariff, and the United States Bank. 
These three important matters absorbed a large part of his 
attention during his eight years of office. 

357 . The Tariff. — The recent industrial development of the 
country had made the tariff more important than ever before. 
Statesmen were now beginning to comprehend its far-reaching 
effects, and the different sections of the country were taking 
definite stands in regard to it. The tariff measure of i8i6 was 
the first protective act in our history. All previous measures 
had been enacted for revenue primarily, and only incidentally 
for the protection of home industries. It was soon evident 
to the South that she was reaping no benefit from the Act of 
i8i6. She had no manufactures to be protected, but was com- 
pelled by the tariff to pay a high price for the manufactured 
goods which she bought. From her point of view the Tariff 
Act of 1828 was still worse than that of 1816. Some of the 

rates in this case were ridiculously high, and the South 
South op- protested. The total exports of the United States in 
tariff^ 1829 amounted to fifty-five million dollars, and of this 

sum the South exported thirty-four million dollars 
in cotton, rice, and tobacco. Her interests, then, were almost 
exclusively agricultural, and she was not interested in protecting 
the factories of New England and the North. South Carolina 
was one of the most important agricultural states of the South, 
and became the leader in the opposition to the tariff. She was 
soon to take active steps in an attempt to prevent the tariff 
measure from going into effect. 

358 . The Great Debate of 1830. — In January of 1830, while 
the tariff and nullification were being discussed, there took place 
the greatest debate in our annals. Senator Foot of Connecticut 


THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 


301 


had introduced a resolution in regard to the sale of public land 
and the debaters had wandered off into a discussion of the 
nature of the Constitution. Senator Hayne of South Carolina, 
in a brilliant speech, set forth the so-called ‘‘compact theory.” 
He insisted that the Constitution was a mere compact formed 
by sovereign states, and intimated 
that the states might withdraw 
from the compact whenever they 
saw fit to do so. He 
also held that a state ^am-^ 
could declare an act of Joined the 

compact 

Congress null and void theory” 

of the Con- 

Ill case such act seemed stitution, 
to be unconstitutional, the “na- 
This was the doctrine theory” 
of nullification. 

To these views Webster made 
reply in one of the greatest 
speeches ever delivered in the 
English language. He denied 
that the Constitution was a com- 
pact and insisted that the Union 
could not be dissolved. He de- 
nied the right of a state to secede 
from the Union or to nullify a 
law of Congress. He insisted that 

^ i orations on pamocic occasions. me 

the government was a national delivered on the laying of the 

one, and that the Supreme Court, comer stone of Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment is one of his best. He died 
and not the several states, was in Massachusetts, in 1852. 

the final judge of the constitu- 
tionality of a law of Congress. This was the first clear and 
definite statement of the two opposing theories of the Constitu- 
tion, — the “compact” and the “national,” — but the matter was 
not finally settled until decided by the Civil War. By that 
contest the nation adopted the view of Webster. 

359. John C. Calhoun and South Carolina sought to nullify a law 



Daniel Webster. 

Probably the greatest orator America 
has ever produced. Born in New 
Hampshire, 1782, he was graduated 
from Dartmouth College in 1801. 
He studied law and became the 
leader of the Massachusetts bar. 
He was a member of the House of 
Representatives, a senator, and Sec- 
retary of State, and was known as 
the “ Great Expounder of the Consti- 
tution.” He delivered many notable 








302 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


of Congress, 1830. — A sentiment in favor of nullification was 
stirred up in the South under the leadership of South Carolina 
and John C. Calhoun. It was held that any law passed by 
Congress might be declared null and void by any state, in case 
the state considered the law unconstitutional. This doctrine ' 



John C. Calhoun. 


was making some headway, and its adherents 
hoped to enlist the support of the President. 
In this they were doomed to disappointment. 
On April 13, 1830, they received a serious 
set-back. On that date a number of Demo- 
cratic leaders had met at a banquet to cele- 
brate the birthday of Jefferson, the founder of 
the party. Several of the speakers declared 
themselves in favor of state sovereignty and 
approved the doctrine of nullification. Presi- 
dent Jackson was not slow to grasp the trend 
of events, and when it came his turn to speak 
he boldly announced as his toast: “Our Fed- 
eral Union: it must be preserved.” 


The great expounder of Jackson 

the Constitution from declared This Staggered the nullifiers. It 

nSimcV was plain to all that the President 

would not allow any state to resist 


the laws of the United States. It was plain, 
too, that Jackson was not a man to be trifled 
with. To a member of Congress from South 
Carolina who asked him if he had any com- 


the standpoint of the 
South was born in 
South Carolina in 1782, 
and died in Washing- 
ton, D.C., in 1850. He 
was graduated from 
Yale College and soon 
became an eminent 
lawyer. He was a 
member of the House, 
the Senate, the Cabinet, mands foi* his friends in that state, he replied : 

the United States. He Yes, I have ; please give my compliments to 

was a forceful writer j^.|y friends in yolir state, and say to them that 
and a good speaker. , , iin'i 

if a Single drop of blood shall be shed there 
in opposition to the laws of the United States, I will hang the 
first man I can lay my hand on engaged in such treasonable 
conduct, upon the first tree I can reach.” There was no doubt 
as to where the President stood, and in his bold ‘and patriotic 
stand he did a magnificent service for the Union. 

South Carolina and the other Southern states, however. 



THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 


303 


should not be blamed too much because of their nullification 
sentiments. The fact is that New England was as , 

blameworthy and unpatriotic in the Hartford Conven- lifiers” 
tion matter in 1814 as South Carolina was in regard all in the 
to nullification in 1832. Nullification had been advo- 
cated in many states, North as well as South, before 1832. It 
must be remembered also that the doctrine was not so odious in 
1832 as it has since become. The times have changed. There 
was not so much national spirit and sentiment in Jackson’s time 
as there was in Lincoln’s. The national spirit and love for the 
national government were matters of slow growth. The preser- 
vation of the Union would have been vastly more difficult in the 
time of Jackson than it was thirty years later. Webster’s splen- 
did speech and Jackson’s patriotic utterance in regard to nullifi- 
cation did much toward developing this national spirit. 

360. Tariff of 1832. — The trouble, however, was not over. 
The people were not satisfied with the tariff of abominations ” 
and insisted upon a change. It came in 1832. The new meas- 
ure abolished the abominations,” for the most part, and was 
practically a return to the law of 1824. It was to go into 
effect on March 3, 1833. 

361. South Carolina passed the Ordinance of Nullification, No- 
vember 24, 1832. — The passage of this tariff act intensified 
the opposition of the South. It was now evident that the pro- 
tective policy would not be abandoned. It was plain also that 
the South, and South Carolina in particular, would make an 
attempt to keep the law from going into effect. Calhoun took 
the matter up and made a forceful argument for nullification. 
The state acted upon his advice, and on November 24 a con- 
vention assembled at Columbia passed the now famous Ordi- 
nance of Nullification, which declared that the tariff acts of 
1828 and 1832 were null and void within the limits of the state. 
The ordinance also prohibited citizens from paying duties under 
the laws after February i. It also declared that in case the 
federal government should attempt to enforce the tariff laws 
in South Carolina, the state would withdraw from the Union. 


304 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


362. Election of 1832 . — Jackson in the meantime was not idle. 
Before South Carolina had passed her Nullification Ordinance 
the election of 1832 had been held. The United States Bank 
was the main political issue, the tariff was discussed to some 
extent, but the doctrine of nullification had not been fully devel- 
oped. The personality of Jackson was, of course, the most 
important issue. He was the candidate of the Democrats, 
while the National Republicans nominated Henry Clay and 
the Anti-Masonic party, William Wirt of Virginia. Jackson 
was elected by an overwhelming majority. He received two 
hundred and nineteen votes to forty-nine for Clay. 

363. Jackson secures the Passage of the Force Bill/’ March i, 
1833 . — The President looked upon his rejection as an approval 
of his policy by the people. He therefore continued his fight 
against nullification. When he saw that South Carolina would 
resist the laws of the United States, he sent instructions (No- 
vember 6) to the collector of customs at the port of Charleston 
to collect all duties, and to use force in doing so, if necessary. 
After the ordinance of November 24 was published, he issued 
a proclamation in which he denounced nullification as contrary 
to the Constitution, and, he added significantly, ‘‘ The laws of 
the United States must be executed.” 

In January, 1833, he asked Congress to pass a law enabling 
him to use the army and navy of the United States to protect 
the collectors of revenue. Congress did this, and the so-called 
‘‘Force Bill” became a law on March i, 1833. 

South Carolina also made ready for the conflict. Hayne 
was elected governor of the state, and Calhoun was 
CaroUna Senate in his place. Preparations were 

prepared made to put the state on a war footing. In the 

for war. . ^ ^ ^ ^ 

meantime, February i, 1833, was awaited with much 


anxiety. 

364. The Tariff was revised and Danger averted. — Just at the 
time when civil war seemed probable a very fortunate compro- 
mise was made which prevented trouble for the time. Henry 
Clay is known in American history as the “ Great Compromiser,” 


THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 


305 


and at this critical time he did a very useful piece of work. At 
his suggestion Congress passed a law reducing the tariffs ; which 
law was to go into effect on March 2, 1833, — day before 
the tariff law of 1832 was to become effective. This appeased 
South Carolina, and on March ii the Ordinance of Nullifica- 
tion was repealed. South Carolina had succeeded in getting the 
tariffs reduced, but she had not succeeded in getting the princi- 
ple of nullification recognized. 

365. Jackson killed the United States Bank. — The United 
States Bank played an important part in Jackson’s administra- 
tion. The reader is already familiar with its .establishment in 
1791. It was chartered at that time for a period of twenty 
years. When the charter expired in 1811, it was not renewed 
and the bank was allowed to go out of existence for five 
years. In 1816 it was chartered for twenty years more. The 
bank was expected to furnish a sound and a uniform currency 
and to assist the government in the management of its finances. 

There was from the beginning a wide difference of opinion 
in regard to the constitutionality of the bank. In 1819, how- 
ever, the United States Supreme Court passed upon the ques- 
tion and declared the bank to be constitutional. President 
Jackson was not inclined to accept this decision, and looked 
upon the bank as the representative of the money power. 
Although its charter did not expire until 1836, Jackson began 
his attacks upon it in 1829, and followed them up persistently. 
Clay was friendly to the bank, and advised its managers to 
apply for a renewal of the charter in 1832. This they did, and 
the bill was passed in June of that year, but was promptly vetoed 
by Jackson, on the ground that the bank was ‘‘an unnecessary, 
useless, expensive, un-American monopoly.” 

Then came the campaign of 1832, in the course of which the 
bank threw its influence against Jackson. It also used money, 
but not in a corrupt way, to defeat the President. This Jack- 
son could not tolerate, so he dealt the bank another serious blow. 
He ordered that no further deposits of United States funds 
should be made in the bank. Certain state banks, later known 


3o6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


as pet banks,” were selected as the depositories of the money 
of the United States. For this action President Jackson was 
criticised very severely. The Senate, under the leadership of 
Clay and Webster, passed a resolution of censure, which Thomas 
H. Benton, after a long and persistent effort, succeeded in having 
erased or expunged.” 

366. Jackson’s Policy led to Bad Banking. — Jackson’s finan- 
cial policy led to serious difficulties. When he withdrew the 
deposits of the government from the United States Bank, he 
distributed them among a number of state banks in the South 
and West which were owned by his political supporters. There 
was a scramble to secure the funds, and charters were freely 
given to new banks. Hundreds of them had no capital at all, 
yet they issued notes and received deposits. The result was 
that the banking business was based upon a very shaky founda- 
tion. Jackson saw that there was trouble ahead, since the 
government was receiving its revenue in depreciated bank notes. 
In 1836 the sales of public land amounted to twenty-five million 
dollars, and the treasury was flooded with this depreciated paper 
money. Consequently, on July ii, 1836, Jackson issued his fa- 
mous Specie Circular,” which directed that nothing but gold 
and silver should be taken in payment for public lands. This 
measure and the removal of the deposits were the personal acts 
of the President. They did much toward bringing on the 
financial panic, or crisis, of 1837, but were by no means the sole 
cause of it. The people were trying to get rich rapidly by wild 
speculation. 

367. Jackson was successful in his Management of Foreign 
Affairs. — While the financial affairs of Jackson’s administration 
were not wholly successful, the foreign affairs were handled with 
great skill. Jackson’s methods were honest and direct, and his 
Secretary of State was skilled in diplomacy and expert in the 
management of men. 

When the colonies became independent, they naturally lost the 
privilege of trading with the English West Indies. This privi- 
lege the Americans were very anxious to regain. Jackson 


THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 


307 


accordingly sent a representative to England to say that the 
United States would repeal her laws against British commerce 
in case Great Britain would allow the United States to trade 
with the West Indies. Britain agreed, and the affair was closed 
in 1830. 

At about the same time Jackson pressed the French Spolia- 
tion Claims” — claims for money due to the United States for 
depredations on American commerce. A change in the govern- 
ment of France brought a new king to the throne in 1830, and 
he recognized the claims as just and promised to pay five million 
dollars to the United States, which was done in 1835. The pay- 
ment of other claims was also secured by Jackson, and the power 
of the United States was recognized.- These diplomatic tri- 
umphs added to the reputation of the President, and rightly so. 

368 . Van Buren was elected to succeed Jackson, 1836. — The 
opposition to Jackson was reorganized in 1834. At that time 
the National Republican party disappeared and was succeeded 
by the Whigs. Martin Van Buren was Jackson’s favorite, and 
he was accordingly nominated by the Democrats for the Presi- 
dency. The Whigs nominated William Henry Harrison, ‘‘ the 
hero of Tippecanoe.” Van Buren was elected by a vote of one 
hundred and seventy to seventy-three. His majority of the 
popular vote was only twenty-five thousand. 

The mantle of Jackson fittingly fell upon the shoulders of 
Van Buren. Van Buren had been an ardent supporter of Jack- 
son’s policy for years, and now after his election promised to 
follow in the footsteps of his former chief. 


Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841 

369 . The Panic came in 1837 ^nd Prices rose enormously. — 

The administration of Van Buren may be looked upon as a 
continuation of that of Jackson. In financial matters things 
were in a bad way. The crash soon came. The wild specula- 
tion, the worthless paper money, and Jackson’s financial meas- 
ures brought on the panic of 1837 — worst the United 


3o8 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



States has ever seen. Banks and business houses were failing 
on every hand, and prices of the necessities of life reached ridicu- 
lously high figures. Flour went from four dollars per barrel, in 
1834, to eleven dollars, in 1837, while corn rose from fifty-three 
cents to one dollar and fifteen cents a bushel. Poor people 

found it very difficult to live, 
and bread riots prevailed in New 
York. In this emergency the Presi- 
dent called an extra session of Con- 
gress to meet in September, but the 
leaders had no remedies to offer. 
Calhoun said that the financial con- 
dition of the country was “almost 
incurably bad” and that an “ex- 
plosion” was sure to come. 

370 . Better Banking Laws were 
enacted. — It was plain that the 
country was doomed to suffer for 
the folly of insane speculation and 
unwise financial management, yet 
there were some things which could 
be done to improve matters. 

In the first place, steps were 
taken by the states to regulate banking. New York passed a 
law in 1838 which resembled in some respects our present excel- 
lent National Banking Law. Under this law banks could no 
longer issue notes without giving security for their redemption. 
This was a step in the right direction. The days of unregulated 
banking were evidently numbered. 

371 . Independent Treasury Act, July 4, 1840. — Congress 
also took steps to protect the funds of the United States by 
passing the Independent Treasury Act of July 4, 1840. This 
act provided that vaults and safes should be constructed for the 
funds of the United States in order that the government might 
be independent of the banks. It was provided that the officers 
of the government should give bonds, and “that after June 30, 


Martin Van Buren. 

Van Buren was born in New York 
in 1782, and became an eminent 
lawyer and skilful politician. He 
was senator, governor of New York, 
Secretary of State, and President for 
one term. He died in 1862. 






THE JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 


309 


1843, all payments to or by the United States should be in gold 
or silver exclusively.” This Independent Treasury plan was 
repealed soon after, but was later reenacted and is in existence 
to-day. 

372 . The Election of 1840. — The difficulties which Van Buren 
had inherited from the Jackson 
administration had an important 
bearing upon the election of 1840. 

The spoils system had led to 
scandals, and Van Buren was 
blamed for them. He was looked 
upon as the man who had im- 
ported the system from New 
York. The finances had been 
badly managed, and again Van 
Buren was held accountable. 

His popularity decreased. The 
country had made up its mind 
that he was a small, selfish, in- 
capable politician, and it judged 
him accordingly.” As a matter 
of fact a great injustice was done 
him. He was really a very cap- 
able man, and would have given 
the country a good administra- 
tion under more favorable cir- 
cumstances. 

The Democrats nominated Van Buren and the Whigs chose 
William Henry Harrison. After a picturesque and exciting 
campaign, Harrison was elected by a vote of two 
hundred and thirty-four to sixty. The issues of the de^feated 
campaign were not very distinctly drawn, but Harri- 
son, the bold Indian fighter and frontiersman, with rmg cam- 
his associations of log cabins, coon skins, and hard 
cider, appealed powerfully to the imagination of the people. 
The Whigs sang : — 



William Henry Harrison. 

The “ Hero of Tippecanoe ” was 
born in Virginia, 1773. He was a 
student at Hampden-Sidney College, 
and later a soldier. He was the first 
governor of Indiana Territory, a mem- 
ber of the House of Representatives, 
a senator, and for one month Presi- 
dent of the United States. He died 
at Washington, D.C., April 4, 1841. 


310 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Farewell, dear Van, 

You’re not our man ; 

To guard the ship 
We’ll try old Tip.” 

And they voted as they sang. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1829-1837. Jackson’s Administrations. 

1829. First Railroad in the United States. 

1830. The Great Debate, Webster against Hayne. 
1832. Nullification. 

1837-1841. Van Buren’s Administration. 

1837. Panic. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


SLAVERY AND THE MISSOURI STRUGGLE 


373 . The Struggle over Slavery Extension begins. — The 

greatest political struggle America ever experienced was over 
the extension of slavery. In this long struggle the first serious 
difference arose in 1820, when, for the first time since the 
adoption of the Constitution, the slavery question was brought 
prominently into national politics. This came about over the 
admission of Missouri, when a dispute over slavery extension 
arose that was destined finally to bring on secession and civil 
war. 

When the Constitution was made in 1787, and for some time 
after, it seems to have been expected by both North and 
South that slavery would soon disappear ; that as soon as the 
foreign slave trade was prohibited, as was done in 
1808, and the supply of slaves was thus cut off, slavery fathers 
would die a natural death. It was gradually dis- slavery to 
appearing in the Northern states. Leading Southern 
men, such as Washington, Jefferson, George Mason, and Patrick 
Henry, condemned the institution severely. They looked for- 
ward to its abolition and sought to prevent its extension. 

But by 1820 conditions had changed. In 1793 Eli Whitney 
invented the cotton gin, a machine for separating the seed from 
the fiber of the cotton. This machine enabled one slave to 
do the work that hundreds had been required for 
before. The result of this was that cotton culture culture 

increased 

greatly increased. Cotton raising became very profit- the slave 

. . interest 

able, and thousands of slave owners, in order to raise 
cotton, moved from the seaboard states to the virgin soil of the 
Southwest, — to Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Negro 


312 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



field hands rose in value ; moral opposition was allayed ; slavery 
was extended ; and the social and economic life of the South 
was coming more and more to be built on the slavery system. 

374. Slave States and Free are admitted Alternately to main- 
tain the Equilibrium.” — There was another important aspect 
of the matter. Whether it was intended to be so or not, slave 

states and free states had 
been admitted into the 
Union alternately since 
the adoption of the Con- 
stitution. By 1819 the 
balance was even be- 
tween the slave states 
and the free. Missouri 
was ready to apply for 
admission. The preser- 
vation of the political 
balance^ of the equilib- 
rium of political pozver^ 
had now become a fixed 
and positive principle 
with the South. By 1820 
the free states had one 
hundred and five mem- 
bers of Congress while 
the slave states had only eighty-one, and since the North was thus 
seen to be increasing more rapidly than the South in population 
and wealth, the only hope of the South in maintaining the ‘‘equi- 
librium of power ” was to keep an even balance in the Senate 
where each state had equal weight with every other. They 
came to consider a balance between the sections as necessary to 
the Union. 

375. Louisiana Territory comes to the United States with 
Slavery already Established. — This sectional rivalry for politi- 
cal power had been suggested at the time of the admission of 
Louisiana, the first state admitted from the Louisiana Pur- 


The First Cotton Gin (1793). 

Its influence upon cotton growing and the 
history of the United States was tremendous. 
By hand a slave could separate the seeds 
from only about a pound of cotton fiber, 
but with the aid of the cotton gin he could 
separate about a thousand pounds in a 
day. Before the cotton can be made into 
cloth the seeds must be taken out. 



A Modern Cotton Gin. 

Cotton planters no longer gin their cotton with liitle gins of their own, but 
mills are established at railroad centers to do the ginning for the neigh- 
borhood. A modern cotton-ginning establishment contains, besides the gin, 
the telescope, the elevator, the exhaust fan, the feeder, the seed conveyer, 
the flue, the condenser, and the press. The machine which separates the 
hirers from the seed is the gin. All the other machines in the gin mill, 
except the engine and the boiler, are intended to get the seed cotton to 
the gin or to take care of the lint and seeds after they leave the gin. The 
three essential elements of Whitney’s gin — the saws, ribs, and brush — are 
still retained, but the steam roller gin has increased the capacity many times. 










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SLAVERY AND THE MISSOURI STRUGGLE 


313 


chase. Missouri was a part of this purchase, made by Jeffer- 
son in 1803. Slaves were property by the French law of 
Louisiana at that time. Congress did not attempt to change 
this local law, or to abolish slavery in Louisiana, but recognized 
its existence there by providing that masters from slave states 
might bring their slaves into that territory (New Orleans Act, 
1804). Under this law masters moved with their slaves into 
Louisiana and Missouri, and it thus appears that slavery was 
sanctioned, or recognized, in these territories by national 
authority. 

376. New England opposes the Admission of States from the 
New Territory. — In 1812 Louisiana was admitted to the Union 
as a slave state without any controversy over slavery. Its admis- 
sion, however, was stoutly opposed by some people from the New 
England states, and Josiah Quincy of Massachusetts 
hotly denounced the act. He said it would justify and^sta^te 
revolution and secession, and would virtually dissolve 
the Union; that the other states would* then be New Eng- 

land. 

‘‘ free from their moral obligations, and that, as it will 

be the right of all, so it will be the duty of some, to prepare 

for separation, amicably if they can, forcibly if they must.’' 

But this was not because Quincy was opposed to slavery, 
or because Louisiana was coming in as a slave state, but 
because it was made from territory outside of the original 
boundary of the Union, and because, as Quincy said. Congress 
“ was not authorized to admit new partners to a share of 
political power.” That is, the New England states wished to 
retain their original share of political power, and they saw 
that if the vast territory of Louisiana were to be carved up 
and admitted as new states on an equal footing with the other 
states, political power would surely pass from the North and 
East to the South and West. Quincy spoke of the Constitu- 
tion as a ‘^compact” and of the Union as a '^partnership,” and 
he did not wish to admit as equals in political power states 
made up of " Spaniards, French, Creoles, mulattoes, negroes, 
and other mongrel races and wild men of the West,” as he 


3M 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


expressed it. He seems not to have been greatly concerned 
about the evils of slavery ; but he did not want the slave section 
to add to its sectional power. 

377. The North objects to admitting Missouri as a Slave State. 

— But in 1819, when Missouri, the second state made out of the 
Louisiana Purchase, applied for admission, the opposition to 
its coming in was made to rest entirely on slavery. Slavery had 
been allowed to get a foothold in Missouri. If left to itself that 
state was sure to come in as a slave state. This would identify 
it, in interests and politics, with the South, and another impor- 
tant precedent would be set for slavery extension and the exten- 
sion of the political power that went with slavery. 

Men from the North now said that no more slave states should 
be admitted. Two motives led them to take this stand, one 
moral, the other political. But both motives rested 
on opposition to the extension of slavery. In the 
first place. Northern men had come to realize more 
fully the wrongs of slavery and the dangers of its 
extension. They believed that slavery was a great 
moral evil, a blight to a new land worse than poisonous weeds 
or famine or pestilence. They thought it to be their duty to 
save the new territories and future states from this great evil. 
They had supposed slavery was to die out, but they now awoke 
to the fact that the slave system had already been extended far 
beyond what was originally intended. They wished to reserve 
the new territories for free immigration, and while they felt that 
the people of the free states might have acted sooner, they 
thought the time had now come to take a stand, to make sure 
that the rest of the Louisiana territory should be reserved for 
free soil and for free labor, just as the Northwest Territory had 
been dedicated to freedom by the great Ordinance of 1787. 

In the second place, those who said that Missouri should not 
come in as a slave state were influenced partly by the political 
motives of Quincy. They did not wish to see an increase of 
I)olitical power in the states of the Southwest, especially, 
the power which they had in the national government on account 


The North 
had two 
motives — 
one moral, 
the other 
political. 


SLAVERY AND THE MISSOURI STRUGGLE 


315 


of their slaves. Political power — votes in Congress and the 
electoral college — was allotted to every slave state for three 
fifths of its slaves. Here was the big bone of contention. The 
Southern men felt that this explained the opposition to Mis- 
souri, and that the proposal to keep her out on account of the 
moral evils of slavery was only pretense and hypocrisy. They 
said it was pozver North was contending for, and that the 
free states were seeking to deprive the South of her fair share of 
political power guaranteed in the Constitution. 

In distributing political power among the states. Northern 
people very much disliked allowing representation for three 
fifths of the slaves. In 1819 the House of Repre- 
sentatives consisted of 18 1 members, one member said that to 
for every 35,000 of the population. There were f‘^three-^^ 
1,101,000 slaves. These slaves gave the slave states fifths com- 

’ ^ ® ^ promise” 

20 representatives and 20 presidential electors more would be 
than they would be entitled to if the slaves were not 
counted. By the census of 1810 Virginia contained 582,000 free 
persons and 392,000 slaves. A free state with 582,000 persons 
would be allowed to elect 16 representatives to Congress, 
while Virginia, by counting three fifths of her slaves, was al- 
lowed to elect 23 representatives. Thus, 35,000 free persons 
were needed to elect a member of Congress in a free state, 
while 25,000 might do so in Virginia; or 5 white men in Vir- 
ginia were given as much power as 7 in Pennsylvania or Ohio. 

It was felt by the free-state men that this system was^unjust ; 
that it gave more power to the slave states than they were 
justly entitled to ; and every new slave state admitted 
only added to the injustice. This arrangement, they agreed to 
admitted, had been agreed upon as one of the orig- the original 
inal compromises of the Constitution, but this had 
been done very reluctantly by the free states in 1787, and was 
made only for the original states and the territories they then 
held, and because it was thought to be a necessary sacrifice to 
secure the adoption of the Constitution. Good faith and honor 
were pledged not to disturb the agreement of 1787 so far as the 


3i6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


original slave states were concerned, but to extend this dispro- 
portionate power to an indefinite number of new states would 
be unjust and odious. Thus we see the North was aroused to 
resist the extension of slavery both from a moral duty and from 
a sense of political right and self-interest. 

The Southern leaders stood up for their rights as they under- 
stood them. They said it would be^ unconstitutional for Congress 
to impose such a condition on Missouri; that originally, the 
states were allowed to decide for themselves whether they would 
have slavery or not ; that this was a Union of equal states, and if 
Missouri were not allowed to decide this question for herself, as 
Virginia and Massachusetts had done, she would not be equal 
in rights with the other states, and the character of the Union 
would be changed. They recognized that Congress could arbi- 
trarily refuse to admit Missouri, but if Congress admitted her it 
must be without any degrading conditions and as equal to the 
other states in her right to determine her own domestic 
institutions.” 

378. How a Territory becomes a State. — In March, i8i8, Mis- 
souri petitioned for statehood. An enabling act ” was pro- 
posed, authorizing the people of the Missouri territory to hold a 
convention to form a state constitution in preparation 
for admission. This is the way a territory is made into 
a state. On February 13, 1819, Mr. Tallmadge of 
New York proposed an amendment to this “enabling 
act,” providing that Missouri should be admitted only 
on condition that slavery should be gradually abolished there. 
No new slaves should be brought in and slave children born 


A “ dead- 
lock” 
over the 
Tallmadge 
Amend- 
ment. 


after the admission of the state should be free at the age of 
twenty-five. The Tallmadge Amendment passed the House, but 
it was rejected in the Senate, and Congress adjourned on March 4, 
1819, with the two houses in a “ deadlock ” on this subject. 

379. Missouri is made a Rider to Maine. — During the 
summer of 1819 the whole country was greatly agitated over 
slavery in Missouri. In December, 1819, Maine applied for 
admission. No “enabling act” of Congress was necessary in 


SLAVERY AND THE MISSOURI STRUGGI.E 


317 


the case of Maine, because Maine was a part of Massachusetts, 
and it had adopted a constitution by the consent of Massachu- 
setts. The House of Representatives readily consented to admit 
Maine, but in the Senate the Missouri bill (admitting Missouri 
as a slave state) was attached as a '' rider ” to the Maine bill. 
This was done for the purpose of overcoming the opposition in 
the House to the admission of Missouri. By the use of the 
“rider” Missouri was to ride in on the back of Maine, or the 
two states were to come in or stay out together. 

380. The Missouri Compromise. — Both sides stood out firmly, 
and the two houses were again in a deadlock. One side con- 
trolled the Senate, the other the House. A compromise was 
necessary. Under such circumstances a “ conference commit- 
tee ” is appointed, consisting of a committee from each house, 
who meet together and try to come to an agreement which will 
be accepted by both houses. The compromise provided by this 
committee was based on a proposal of Senator Thomas of 
Illinois. It provided : (i) That Maine should be separated from 
Missouri and admitted free. (2) That Missouri should be ad- 
mitted as a slave state. (3) That in all the rest of the Louisiana 
Territory ceded by France north of 36° 30', “ slavery shall be and 
is hereby forever prohibited.” This agreement was approved 
by both houses of Congress and adopted. 

Such was the famous Missouri Compromise, the agreement 
in 1820 between the North and the South. The compromise is 
important in three aspects : i. It recognized a sec- 
tional geographical division of the country. The old 
Mason and Dixon’s line and the line of the Ohio 

portant. 

River, separating the slave states from the free, was 
now extended to the western limits, and the sectional character 
of the slavery interest was thus recognized. It foretold a sec- 
" tional struggle over slavery. 

2. This compromise recognized the power of Congress to pro- 
hibit slavery in the territories. A few years later this power 
was denied, and for years it was the leading issue in politics. 
The Compromise of 1820 was looked to as a very important 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


31S 

exercise of this power by Congress, to which President Monroe 
and his Cabinet (of which Calhoun was a member) gave their 
consent. 

3. The Missouri struggle indicated a notable change in 
Southern sentiment on the slavery question. Formerly, South- 
ern leaders had spoken out against slavery. But now a 
growing slave interest had evidently produced a sentiment in 
support of slavery that was determined to insist upon the pro- 
tection of slavery by the federal government.^ 

1 After the agreement we have described another struggle arose over Missouri. 
This was over the Missouri constitution, which required the state legislature to forbid 
free negroes or mulattoes from settling in that state. The antislavery men refused 
to admit Missouri under this constitution, and Missouri had to give a pledge that 
this provision would not be carried out. Clay’s work in this last phase of the Mis- 
souri struggle gave rise to the subsequent error that he was the author of the Missouri 
Compromise. He said (February 6, 1850) that “ nothing struck him with so much 
amazement as the fact that historical circumstances so soon passed out of recollec- 
tion and he instanced as a case in point the error of attributing to him the act of 
1820. — Johnston and Woodburn’s “American Orations,” Vol. Ill, p. 351. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


THE ABOLITION AGITATION 

381. Garrison and the Liberator. — After the excitement over 
the Missouri question, very little attention was given to the sub- 
ject of slavery for ten years. But in 1831 William Lloyd 
Garrison, a young editor, established the Liberator in Boston. 
Garrison and Isaac Knapp were the publishers of this little 
sheet, which bore for its motto, Our country is the world, our 
countrymen are all mankind.” Garrison demanded '‘that the 
slaves be set free immediately, without paying the masters and 
without being taken out of the country.” He denounced the 
Colonization Society, which had been organized in 1816 for the 
purpose of getting rid of the free blacks by taking them back to 
Africa. Garrison said this only helped the slaveholders to keep 
their slaves in bondage. The forerunner of Garrison in the 
cause of abolition was Benjamin Lundy, a New Jersey Quaker, 
who traveled all over the country on horseback and on foot, sac- 
rificing his money and his time to arouse consciences everywhere 
against the sin and wrong of slavery. 

382. The American Antislavery Society. — In 1831 Garrison 
helped to organize the New England Antislavery Society; and 
two years later, in 1833, the American Antislavery Society was 
organized by Garrison, Whittier, Joshua Leavitt, Elizur Wright, 
Samuel J. May, Arthur Tappan, and others. The declaration 
of the principles of this society " constitutes one of the most im- 
portant boundary marks in the history of the United States.” 
This is so’ because, in the launching of the Libe^^ator and in the 
organization of these Abolition societies, we find the beginning 
of Abolitionism^ the greatest moral movement in our Abolition- 
national history. It brought a new and powerful 

force into American politics, one destined within the next thirty 

319 


320 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Methods 
of Aboli- 
tionists. 


years to control public discussion, disrupt parties, and divide the 
Union. 

The purpose of abolition was to put an end to slavery im- 
mediately, without paying the masters for their slaves. The 
abolitionists denounced slaveholding in unsparing terms, as a 
sin and crime and disgrace. They proposed to organize anti- 
slavery societies all over the land ; to send forth agents to agi- 
tate ; to circulate literature; to enlist the pulpit and 
the church ; to spare no exertion or lawful means to 
destroy slavery. They pledged themselves to do all in 
their power to deliver their land from what they considered its 
deadliest curse, ‘‘ no matter what may come to us in our persons, 
our interests, or our reputations, whether we live to witness the 
triumph of liberty and humanity or perish untimely as martyrs 
in this benevolent and holy cause.” 

Here was uncompromising moral war declared on the labor 
system of the South. There could now be no more peace with 
slavery. The abolition agitation meant a state of 

A « « • j • 

ists^deX're between the sections. Leaders on both sides 

war on believed that the slaveholding states of the South and 

slavery. ^ 

the free states of the North would never be able to 
live in harmony after it began. Either abolitionism or slavery 
must be put down. ‘‘Union-savers” and “dough-faces” and 
“ compromisers ” on both sides might cry “ Peace” and 
“Union,” but no permanent peace or union could be had with- 
out removing the cause of the strife, that is, slavery. 

383. The Slaveholders are aroused to defend Slavery. — Evi- 
dently, a struggle was coming. Slavery was going to be dis- 
cussed, and the slaveholders saw that they had either to give up 
slavery or fight in its defense. They chose to fight. They 
replied with indignation and anger to what they considered the 
outrageous insult and injury of the abolition attacks. The 
governors of Georgia and Virginia called on the mayor of Bos- 
ton to suppress the Liberato7\ Harrison Gray Otis, mayor of 
Boston, replied that no member of the city government in 
Boston had ever heard of the Liberator^ but that finally the 


THE ABOLITION AGITATION 


321 


officers had ferreted out the paper and its editor ; that 
Garrison’s office/^ was an obscure hole, his only visible help a 
negro boy, and his supporters a few insignificant persons of all 
colors.” James Russell Lowell made this the text of his poem, 
‘‘To W. L. Garrison,” beginning, — 


a small chamber, friendless and unseen, 

Toiled o’er his types one poor unlearned young man ; 
The place was dark, unfurnitured and mean ; 

Yet there the freedom of a race began.” 


The legislature of Georgia offered five thousand dollars to 
any person who would kidnap Garrison and secure his conviction 
under the laws of that state. The slave laws of the Southern 
states were strengthened ; voluntary emancipation was re- 
strained ; the life of the free colored people in the South was 
made harder ; demands were increased for the return of fugitive 
slaves ; and Southern leaders instead of speaking of slavery as 
a social and political evil now came to defend slavery as a “ posi- 
tive good,” as Calhoun put it. Governor McDuffie of South 
Carolina said : “ Slavery is the most perfect system of political 
and social happiness that ever existed ; instead of being a politi- 
cal evil, domestic slavery is the corner stone of our republican 
edifice. The black man is designed by Providence for slavery. 
No human institution is more manifestly consistent with the 
will of God.” Almost the entire South united to defend slavery. 

It is hardly to be wondered at that the slaveholders were 
indignant and angry at the abolition attacks. They 
had over a billion dollars invested in slaves. Their The South 

was 01- 

law had recognized slaves as property for two hundred fended be- 

CflllS© 

years. They had inherited this property, had grown the Aboii- 
up with it, and all their contracts and customs and attacked 
their whole system of society were based on it. They of^^her' 
were proud and high-spirited, and it was not human citizens and 

, . proposed 

nature meekly to submit and give up their property, to destroy 
And the abolitionists were attacking not only the erty! 
property of the Southerners, but also their characters. 

The slaveholders were painted as oppressors. 


322 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Southern 
defense of 
slavery in 
answer to 
the Aboli- 
tionists. 


Abolition almanacs and papers were sent broadcast with pic- 
tures of the slave mother on the auction block being sold from 
her children, or of a slave being whipped at the stake or being 
branded with a hot iron, or of a black fugitive being pursued 
with guns and bloodhounds. The fact is, these were the excep- 
tions and excesses in slavery. The great mass of the slaves 
were well-treated ; their masters were kind to them and they 
were attached to their masters. The white people in the South 
felt that the blacks had to be cared for, that they were not capa- 
ble of freedom, and that a horrible race war would result if the 
slaves were set free. 

Southern defenders of slavery claimed that the condition of 
the blacks had been improved by their enslavement in America ; 

that the slaves were better off than factory hands in 
the North; and they asserted that Southern slavery 
was no business of the Northern people and that they 
had no right to intermeddle or advise. The South- 
erners believed that emancipation could only lead to 
intermarriage of the races, which was abhorrent to all their feel- 
ings ; or to a race conflict, which would certainly lead to the 
destruction of one race or the other. They had an awful dread of 
a slave insurrection, and they thought the Abolitionists, whether 
they intended it or not, were instigating the negroes to rise and 
slaughter their masters and desolate the homes of the whites. 

384 . The Nat Turner Insurrection, 1831. — In the same year 
that Garrison started his Liberator^ the Nat Turner insurrection 
occurred at South Hampton, Virginia. Turner was a negro 
slave, a reader of the Bible, who stirred up the slaves against 
their masters. More than sixty whites, men, women, and chil- 
dren, and more than one hundred negroes, were killed before 
the insurrection was put down. This horrible affair threw the 
whole South into a state of intense excitement. No connection 
was ever shown to exist between this affair and the abolitionists, 
but the latter were blamed for it, and the slaveholders felt that 
their homes, their lives, and their whole social system were 
threatened. They demanded that the Abolitionists be put down 


THE ABOLITION AGITATION 


323 


and their agitation suppressed ; that their societies should be 
dispersed by law ; and that speaking against slavery should be 
made a crime. 

385. Northern People try to suppress Abolitionism by Vio- 
lence. — The Northern states were not ready to go so far as this, 
but for a while the great body of the Northern people sympa- 
thized with the South. Some Northern communities turned on 
the Abolitionists and tried to suppress them by mob violence. 
Garrison and his followers were everywhere met with violence 
and abuse. Their meetings were broken up, their speakers 
were egged and stoned ; and it seemed that free speech and free 
press were to be denied to them. 

Prudence Crandall, a school teacher in Connecticut, had her 
school mobbed, and she was cast into prison because she 
admitted colored girls to her school. James G. Birney, a 
Southerner who had freed his slaves and become an Abolitionist, 
had his meetings broken up and his printing press destroyed 
and thrown into the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The Reverend 
Elijah P. Lovejoy, who was not an Abolitionist, but an antislavery 
man who wished to discuss the slavery question, was killed at 
Alton, Illinois, while defending his press against a pro-slavery 
mob. In Boston, George Thompson, an English Abolitionist, was 
announced to speak at a woman’s abolition society, (Oct. 21, 1835). 
A public reward of one hundred dollars was offered to the first 
man who should lay violent hands on the foreign scoundrel, 
that he might be brought to the tar kettle before dark.” The 
mayor was unable to protect the meeting. The rioters shouted 
for Garrison, who endeavored to escape by a back 

^ ^ G&rrison 

door. Garrison was seized and was dragged through mobbed 

the streets of Boston amid a howling mob. It was 

o in prison. 

with great difficulty that the mayor succeeded in get- 
ting him into a carriage, and lodged him in jail for safety. 

The next day Garrison wrote on the walls of his cell : ‘‘ William 
Lloyd Garrison was put in this cell, Wednesday, October 21, 
1835, to save him from the violence of a respectable and influ- 
ential mob, who sought to destroy him for preaching the abomi- 


324 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


nable and dangerous doctrine that all men are created equal, 
and that all oppression is odious in the sight of God. Hail 
Columbia ! Cheers for the Autocrat of Russia and the Sultan of 
Turkey! Reader, let this inscription remain until the last slave 
in this despotic land shall be loosed from his fetters.’’ 

386. William Ellery Channing defends the Abolitionists. — 
These persecutions of the Abolitionists raised up for them 
friends and defenders, as is usually the case in persecutions. 
When Birney was attacked in Cincinnati, William Ellery Chan- 
ning, a noted minister in New England, and afterward one of 
the ablest writers in the antislavery cause, spoke out in defense 
of free speech. Channing stood for many antislavery men who 
were not originally Abolitionists, and he thought Garrison and 
his followers were immoderate and extreme in their demands. 

Channing, like most Northern men, regarded slavery as “the 
calamity, not the crime of the South ” ; he believed the whole 
nation was responsible for the wrong, since New England slave 
dealers had carried and sold slaves to the South. Channing 
said that the whole nation should aid the Southern people in 
getting rid of their burden. He would sell the public lands and 
pay masters for their slaves, as Great Britain had paid one 
hundred million dollars to buy the slaves and to secure eman- 
cipation in the British West Indies, in 1833 . 

But when Channing saw the violent outrages heaped upon 
the Abolitionists he felt that the most sacred rights of freemen 
were being assailed and that in standing up stoutly for their 
liberty to think, and to speak, and to publish their thoughts, 
the brave antislavery men had won for themselves everlasting 
honor among the defenders of American liberty. 

387. Wendell Phillips the Abolition Orator. — The Garrison 
mob and the death of Lovejoy led Wendell Phillips, the greatest 
orator of his time, to give his talents to the cause of abolition. 
Phillips, like Channing, was highly educated, and his stirring 
addresses, like Channing’s essays, did much to arouse people 
to oppose slavery. 

In spite of all opposition the Abolitionists rapidly increased in 


THE ABOLITION AGITATION 


325 


numbers. By 1837 they had fifteen hundred societies with one 
hundred and fifty thousand members ; and they were 
growing at the rate of one society a day. They were of aboii- 
establishing able newspapers, and their agents worked 
with great zeal. 

But in 1839-1840 there was a split in the abolition ranks. One 
group may be called the “ Garrisonians,” the other the ‘‘Liberty 
Party men.” Garrison led thie first group, who “Gar- 
were the extreme Abolitionists. They did not believe risonians.^’ 
in voting, or in holding office, or in electing men to office, as a 
means of fighting slavery. They proposed to oppose slavery 
merely by moral weapons, and there were many other moral 
reforms that most of them were interested in. They denounced 
the Constitution. They said, “ No union with slaveholders.” 

388. The Liberty Party. — The “ Liberty Party men ” believed 
in voting, organizing a political party, and nominating candidates 
for President and Vice President. They believed the 

Union ought to be preserved. They thought the fugi- 
tive slave clause of the Constitution was null and void their prin- 
because it violated the “ higher law ” of God. With that 
exception they could swear to support the Constitution, which they 
said was an instrument for the defense of liberty not of slavery. 
They said antislavery men ought to try to get control of the 
government and use all its power against slavery. They said 
slavery should be only sectional, or local, while freedom should 
be national. This party nominated James G. Birney for Presi- 
dent in 1840, and polled seven thousand votes. So the abolition 
question could not be kept out of politics. 

389. The South tried to exclude Abolition Papers from the 
Mails. — Nor could the abolition struggle be kept out of Con- 
gress. As the Abolitionists had had to struggle in the country 
at large for freedom of speech and the freedom of the press, so 
now they had to face the government for freedom of petition 
and the freedom of the mails. At the Charleston (South Caro- 
lina) post office in 1835, antislavery papers were taken from 
the mails and burned. The postmaster-general, Amos Kendall, 


326 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


recognized this as unlawful, but he did not condemn the act. 
President Jackson suggested to Congress the passage of a law 
that would prohibit, under severe penalties, the circulation of 
incendiary publications intended to instigate the slaves to insur- 
rection”; and Calhoun proposed a law prohibiting the circulation 
of any papers which any state might deem “incendiary.” 

The Abolitionists denied and resented the charge of President 
Jackson that they were seeking to arouse the slaves to insur- 
rection, and insisted on their right to the use of the mails for 
their newspapers. Of course, postmasters could not be allowed 
to decide what literature was too dangerous to circulate in their 

neighborhoods; and it was impossible to adopt Calhoun’s plan of 

« 

allowing each state to decide what was “incendiary,” and by 
whom and how far the mails should be used. So the attempt to 
deny to the Abolitionists the freedom of the mails came to noth- 
ing, except to draw more public attention to the abolition cause. 

390. Struggle over the Right of Petition. — The Abolitionists 
admitted that Congress had no control over slavery within a 
state, but they felt that Congress had a right and was in duty 
bound to suppress the slave trade between the states, to abolish 
slavery in the District of Columbia and in the territories, and 
wherever Congress had control. They got up petitions to Con- 
gress praying that body to abolish slavery in the 
District of Columbia. In 1802 the slave laws of 
Maryland had been adopted for the District of 
Columbia. As Washington was the national capital, 
the Abolitionists felt that the whole nation was re- 
sponsible for slavery there, and they wanted it abol- 
ished. The slaveholders objected to this. They 

said slavery should be abolished in the District only on the 
request of the people living there, and after obtaining the con- 
sent of Virginia and Maryland, and then only after full compen- 
sation to the owners. Emancipation in Washington, it was 
thought, would endanger slavery in the neighboring states. 

391. The Slavery Discussion in Congress. — Along with these 
petitions some resolutions were presented from the legislature 


The Abo- 
litionists 
tried to 
exclude 
slavery 
from the 
District 
of Colum- 
bia. 


THE ABOLITION AGITATION 


327 


of the state of Vermont, against the annexation of Texas and 
against slavery in the District of Columbia. Here was a 
“ sovereign state ” taking part in the petitions, and it would seem 
that Congress could hardly refuse to hear what a state had to 
say. The Vermont resolutions were denounced by Senator 
King of Alabama, as a ‘‘ libel and insult to the South,” and 
Henry A. Wise of Virginia, in a heated speech in the House, 
demanded that Congress pass a resolution disclaiming any 
power to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. Slade of 
Vermont got a chance to reply to Wise, and for two hours he 
made such an antislavery speech as had never been heard before 
on the floors of Congress. He discussed the whole subject of 
slavery on its merits, condemning it with great severity and 
declaring relentless war on slavery in the halls of Congress. 
Slade’s speech aroused hot resentment and anger among South- 
ern members. Wise of Virginia called upon his colleagues to 
retire from the hall, and a scene of confusion followed while the 
Southerners seemed preparing to leave in a body. They said 
they would not sit there and hear slavery discussed in such a 
manner. It was evident that Abolitionists and slaveholders 
could not abide together and debate peaceably on slavery in the 
same assembly. 

More moderate slaveholders, like Clay, admitted that Con- 
gress had constitutional power to abolish slavery in the District 
of Columbia, but they thought it unwise and inex- 
pedient to do so ; it would cause hard feeling, disturb moLrate 
the peace and harmony between the sections, and on^the^bo- 
endanger the Union. For this reason Clay and those Htion agita- 

® . tion. 

who were ready to compromise and do everything 
they thought was necessary to save the Union sided with the 
Southerners in their efforts to suppress abolition petitions. They 
were especially anxious not to have the question discussed at 
all in Congress, as that would enable antislavery petitions, 
speeches, and arguments to be printed and sent all The “Gag 

^ • Rule.*^ 

over the country. So, for the sake of protecting 
slavery from agitation, a gag rule ” was adopted to shut off the 


328 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


abolition petitions. This provided that ‘‘all petitions, memorials, 
or papers relating in any way to slavery shall be laid on the 
table without any further notice.” This was a very foolish 
policy from the standpoint of those who wished to defend 
slavery. It only raised a new issue, added to the excitement, 
and made more Abolitionists. 


392. John Quincy Adams defends the Right of Petition. — The 

right peaceably to assemble and petition the government is 
guaranteed in the Constitution ; it was a right older than the 
Constitution itself, and down to this time (1834-1837) Congress 
had always received such petitions, heard them, and referred 
them to the proper committees. Not to receive or hear a peti- 
tion was the same as denying all right to petition. It was the 
denial of this right by the effort to “ gag ” the antislavery men 
that aroused John Quincy Adams to enter the antislavery fight 
and to become a powerful ally of the Abolitionists. Adams was 
not an Abolitionist, but he was in favor of free petition and free 
debate, and for years he used all his great ability and eloquence 
in opposing the slaveholders on this new issue that 
Adams, they had raised. He also opposed slavery extension 
and the annexation of Texas. After retiring from the 
Presidency, Adams was elected in 1831 to the lower house of 
Congress, where he passed the rest of his days, till he died at 
his post of duty in the House in 1848, uttering his famous dying 
words, “This is the last of earth.” 

In these last years of his life, Adams won as great distinction 
as a member of the House of Representatives, championing the 
right of petition, as in the greater office that he had 
formerly filled. When the ‘‘gag rule” was proposed, 
Adams said, “ I hold the resolution to be a direct 
violation of the Constitution, the rules of this house, 
and the rights of my constituents.” And when a resolution was 
offered denying to Congress the right to interfere with slavery 
in the states, he said he could disprove it if he were allowed five 
minutes of time for debate. He was not allowed the five min- 
utes in which to speak, but he continued to offer petitions day 


Adams’s 
fight 
against 
the “ gag 
rule.” 


THE ABOLITION AGITATION 


329 

by day and to try to have them heard. These petitions were 
mostly against slavery, but one was in favor of slavery, one was 
for the dissolution of the Union, and one was for his own expulsion 
from the House. It mattered not to Adams what the petition 
was for, he would stand for the right of his constituents to have 
it offered and received. When he offered a petition from a 
number of slaves, the representatives from the slave states were 
exasperated beyond measure, and when he finally informed the 
House that the petition was against abolition and in favor of 
slavery, his opponents were still so angry that they attempted 
to expel him for trifling with the House. 

Adams kept up the fight for eight years, until the '‘gag 
policy” was abandoned, 1844. During this struggle Adams 
stood alone in advocating the startling doctrine that 
Congress, by the exercise of the war power under the dafms^ a 
Constitution, had the constitutional authority to abolish to 

slavery within the states. This doctrine was after- abolish 

. slavery. 

ward made use of by Congress and President Lin- 
coln in the Civil War. The power of emancipation as a war 
measure was based upon the doctrine announced at this time by 
John Quincy Adams. ^ 


FACTS AND DATES 

1820.’ The Missouri Compromise. 

1831 . Founding of the Liberator and beginning of Abolition Movement. 
1833. American Antislavery Society Organized. 

1835. Texas declared her Independence of Mexico. 

1836-1838. Abolition Petitions denied by Congress. 

1841-1845. Harrison and Tyler’s Administration. 

1842. The Webster- Ashburton Treaty. 

1844. Invention of Electric Telegraph. 

^ See Johnston and Woodburn’s “American Orations,” Vol. I, pp. 115, 375. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


TEXAS, OREGON, AND THE MEXICAN WAR 
The Annexation of Texas 


393. Moses Austin made Settlements in Texas. — After the 
purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803, Texas — which may 
be briefly described as the area between the Sabine and the Rio 
Grande — was in dispute between Spain and the United States. 
This dispute was settled in 1819 in the Florida Treaty, by which 
the United States recognized the Sabine as the western boun- 
dary of Louisiana. After that Texas was clearly a part of Mexico 
and not of the United States. So when Mexico became inde- 
pendent of Spain in 1821, Texas became a part of the Mexican 
Republic. The United States afterward tried to buy Texas, but 
Mexico refused to sell (1828-1829). 

In 1819 Moses Austin, a Connecticut Yankee, made plans for 
planting an American colony in Texas. In 1821 and 1822 
Austin’s son, Stephen F. Austin, led American settlers into 
Texas, some of them with their slaves. The Mexican govern- 
ment abolished slavery in 1829, but the Texans disregarded this 
law and still continued to hold their slaves. Mexico then, in 
1830, attempted to restrict American migration to Texas, there 
being by this time about twenty thousand colonists in Texas, 
most of them Americans. 

394. Texas revolts from Mexico. — The Mexican government 

was not satisfactory to the Texans. The Mexican dictator. 

The Tex- Santa Anna, had too much power in his own hands. 

ans wanted In 1 83 5 he changed the constitution of Mexico, depriv- 
local . 

s2if-gov- mg the Texans of local self-government. The 
Texans felt that their lives and property were not suf- 
ficiently protected. They differed from the Mexicans in race 

330 





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TEXAS, OREGON, AND THE MEXICAN WAR 


331 


and religion, and they wanted republican, local, state government 
of their own, such as they had been used to in the United States. 
In 1835 they rose in revolt against Mexico to secure their inde- 
pendence, and in 1836, under the leadership of Sam Houston, 
they drew up a constitution recognizing slavery and claiming as 
the boundary of independent Texas '' to the mouth of the Rio 
Grande, thence up that river to its source.’* 

The Texans fought bravely for freedom from Mexico. At 

the Alamo, a fortified convent in San Antonio, a little band of 

one hundred and eighty-three Texans were besieged 

by an army of one thousand Mexicans, and it was 

^ ^ massacre 

understood that if the Alamo had to be carried by of the 
assault, the garrison would be put to the sword. 

Colonel Travis, the Texan comniander, announced that he 
‘‘ would never surrender or retreat.” The Mexicans assaulted 
the fort and “ a desperate hand-to-hand struggle followed, and 
all but about a half dozen of the Texans died fighting.” The 
survivors were all massacred, not a man of the garrison being 
left alive. This was in March, 1836. The Texans never forgot 
the Alamo. The massacre embittered them against the Mexi- 
cans and made them resolve never again to submit to Mexican 
rule. 

A few weeks later (April 21, 1836) the Texans inflicted upon 

the Mexicans a crushing defeat in the decisive battle of San 

Jacinto. Santa Anna, the Mexican leader, was cap- Battle 

tured, the Mexicans lost sixteen hundred men, more jacfnto 

than twice the number of the whole Texan army, and 

Texan independence was soon recognized by Great Britain, 

France, and the United States. 'For nine years , 

Lone star 

(1836-1845) Texas was known as the ‘'Lone Star Republic, 
Republic.” 1836-1845- 

395. Reasons for Opposition to Annexation. — During this 
period the Texans wished to be annexed to the United States; 
and but for the slavery question, and fear of war with Mexico, 
Texas would probably have been admitted to the Union soon 
after 1836 without opposition. Americans had helped to secure 


332 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Texan independence by furnishing men, money, and arms; 
Southern leaders were determined to have Texas in the Union. 
The Texans were brother Americans; they had a fertile and 
extensive country ; slave property was allowed there ; more ter- 
ritory was needed for slave expansion ; they claimed it would 
be only reannexation of territory that ought never to have been 
given up ; and, most important of all, equality of power in the 
Senate for the slave interest demanded that there should be 
more slave states if ‘Hhe Southern scale were not to kick the 
beam.” 

These were some of the very reasons why Abolitionists and 
antislavery men so stoutly opposed annexation. They felt that se- 
curing more slave territory should be prevented at every hazard ; 
that it would strengthen and perpetuate the control of the slave- 
holders over the national government ; and that the taking of 
Texas would be an unjust seizure of the territory of a weaker 
nation that would certainly bring on war with Mexico. 

396 . Annexation as a Party Issue, 1844. — The question 
came to be the chief political issue in the campaign of 1844. 
Under Southern leadership the Democratic party, by reviving 
the ‘‘ two-thirds rule,” laid aside Van Buren as the party candi- 
date because he had opposed annexation, and took up a com- 
paratively unknown man, James K. Polk of Tennessee, who has 
been called the first ‘Mark horse” in American politics; that 
is, one who had not been publicly mentioned for the Presidency 
before the convention nominated him. Polk had come out 
openly for annexation. The Democrats went into the campaign 
with the cry. 

Hurrah for Polk and annexation, 

Down with Clay and high taxation.” 

The Whigs nominated Clay, and they thought it not possible 
for the unknown, commonplace Polk to be elected over their 
renowned and brilliant leader. But in the midst of 

Clay on 

annexa- the Campaign, Clay, who had been opposed to annexa- 
tion, wrote a letter to satisfy Southern Whig annexa- 
tionists, in which he said he was not personally opposed to 


TEXAS, OREGON, AND THE MEXICAN WAR 


333 


annexation, and that he would be glad to see Texas annexed 
“ without dishonor, without war, with the common consent of the 
Union, and upon just and fair terms.” This seemed to make 
Clay’s position uncertain, and to make annexation only a question 
of time and method, which did not satisfy the radical antislavery 
men. Extension of slavery was all they saw in the question of 
Texas, and enough of them withdrew their support 
from Clay in New York to give Polk that important 
state and elect him. They voted for Tames G. Bir- slavery 

\otes. 

ney, who had again been nominated for President by 

the Abolitionists under the name of the ‘‘Liberty Party.” 

397. Tyler disappoints the Whigs. — Polk was elected to an- 
nex Texas, but he found the work done before he came into 
office. It had been done during 
the last days of the Tyler admin- 
istration. Tyler, as Vice Presi- 
dent, succeeded to the Presidency 
after Harrison’s death, in April, 

1841. He was a Southern states’ 
rights Democrat of the Calhoun 
faction of the party. The Whigs 
put him on their ticket in 1840, 
because he had been opposed to 
Jackson, and as a kind of bid for 
the states’ rights influence. When 
Tyler came into the Presidency, 
in 1841, he offended the Whig 
leaders by his continued use of 
the veto, and especially by his 
veto of the Whig measures, the 
bank and the tariff. His Cabinet 
all resigned except Webster, who 
remained as Secretary of State to 
complete the Webster- Ashburton Treaty relating to our north- 
eastern boundary. 

Tyler entered heartily into the scheme for annexation. He 



John Tyler. 


John Tyler was a member of a dis- 
tinguished Virginia family, and was 
born in 1790. He was educated at 
William and Mary College, and after 
filling various offices became Presi- 
dent upon the death of President 
Harrison. In 1861 he was elected a 
member of the Confederate Congress. 
He died in 1862. 


334 


AMERICAN HISrORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Tyler ap- 
points Cal- 
houn Sec- 
retary of 
State to 
bring about 
annexa- 
tion. 


Calhoun 
brings slav- 
ery under 
national 
protection 
by his 
policy of 
annexa- 
tion. 


'made Calhoun Secretary of State for this purpose. Calhoun 
was the original author of annexation, and no one did 
more than he to bring it about. He had spoken in 
favor of it as early as 1836, only a month after the 
battle of San Jacinto. Great Britain wished to see 
slavery abolished in Texas, as well as throughout the 
rest of the world, and she tried to induce Mexico to 
recognize Texan independence on condition that Texas would 
abolish slavery. Calhoun said this was a matter of deep 
concern” to the United States, and that for the sake of our 
peace and security America could no longer postpone 
annexation. Calhoun thought Texas would soon be- 
come a free country unless it were annexed to the 
United States, and he believed that if Texas con- 
tinued independent without slavery, slavery could not 
be long continued in the Southern states. By his 
policy in the State Department, Calhoun was now 
using all the power and influence of the national government to 
keep Texas a slave state and to bring it into the Union as a 
means of strengthening and sustaining slavery in the South. 

This ‘Miationalizing ” of slavery in order to protect it was of 
great importance and influence in arousing Abolitionist opposi- 
tion in the North, and in subsequently dividing the states and 
political parties sectionally on the issue of slavery. 

398. Annexation by Treaty fails, but a Joint Resolution suc- 
ceeds. — Calhoun negotiated a treaty with Texas providing for 
its admission into the Union, but this was rejected by the Sen- 
ate (April, 1844). Tyler and the friends of Texas then waited 
until after the election of Polk, which they interpreted as an 
order from the people in favor of annexation. A joint resolu- 
tion was then passed through Congress (March i, 1845) provid- 
ing for the admission of Texas. A treaty must be ratified by a 
two-thirds vote of the Senate, and it was evident that annexa- 
tion could not be brought about in that way. So the annexa- 
tionists resorted to the plan of joint resolution — a way by which 
territory had never been annexed before. 


TEXAS, OREGON, AND THE MEXICAN WAR 335 


399. Final Conditions of Annexation. — Texas accepted the 
plan and was finally made a state, in December, 1845 — l^e 
last slave state that ever came into the Union. The resolution 
admitting Texas provided that, with the consent of Texas, four 
other states might be made out of that state (it was expected 
that all would be slave states), except that slavery should be pro- 
hibited in any new state north of 36° 30'. Thus the Missouri 
line and the power of Congress to prohibit slavery in the terri- 
tories were again recognized. 


The Oregon Question 

400. Americans and British claimed Oregon. — The Oregon 
country was the region on the Pacific coast west of the Rocky 
Mountains from the north boundary of California to the south 
boundary of Alaska, from latitude 42° to 54° 40'. In the early 
part of the nineteenth century four nations claimed rights in 
this region, — Spain, Russia, Great Britain, and the United 
States. The Americans secured Spain’s rights in 1819, and 
Russia retired as a claimant in 1824 and 1825. In treaties 
with Great Britain and the United States, Russia recognized 
54° 40' as the south boundary of Alaska. A long dispute over 
Oregon continued between Great Britain and the United States. 
The American claim rested on the discovery of the Columbia by 
Captain Gray in 1792; on the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; on 
the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804-1805 ; on the settlement 
of Astoria in 1811 ; and on the Florida treaty with Spain in 
1819, when Spain surrendered her claims in favor of the United 
States. 

Great Britain based her claims on (i) the early voyages of 
Drake ; (2) the third voyage of Captain Cook in 1778, 
who examined the coast above 44°; (3) the survey of claims to 
this coast by Vancouver in 1792 and 1793; and (4) 
the trading posts and interests of the Hudson Bay Company. 

401. America and Great Britain agree on Joint Occupancy, 
1818. — In 1818 the two countries agreed by treaty to joint 


33 ^ 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


occupancy of the country ; that is, the final settlement of the 
claims was to be postponed, while the citizens of both countries 
were to be allowed to settle there. This arrangement was to last 
ten years, and before it expired the agreement was renewed in 
1827, to continue until one of the countries desired to end it, 
which it could do by giving one year’s notice to the other. 



» ^ r 

.-xo parallel 


Astoria, 


THE OREGON 

TERRITORY 
in di^u^e 1818-1846 


SCALE OF MILES 


PARALLEL 42 

I C A N P 


In the thirties American trading companies, missionaries, and 
settlers went to Oregon, and a sentiment arose in the United 
States in favor of giving notice to Great Britain that 
the joint occupation should cease. It was asserted in 
Congress and in the press that the claim of the United 
States was good to the whole of Oregon and that our 
authority should be extended over all of it. This would have 
shut British America out from the Pacific Ocean, and Great 
Britain would probably have gone to war before giving up all 
her claims on the coast. A warlike spirit arose in America and 
the cries, '‘All of Oregon or none,” "Fifty-four forty or fight,” 


The United 
States de- 
sires the 
whole of 
Oregon. 


TEXAS, OREGON, AND THE MEXICAN WAR 


337 


were heard in the campaign of 1844, “reoccupation of 

Oregon” was demanded in the Democratic platform. President 
Polk, in his inaugural address (1845), spoke of “our domain 
extending from ocean to ocean,” and he asserted (using the 
language of liis party platform) that '' our title to the Oregon 
country was clear and unquestionable.” Some leaders in Con- 
gress said that this was ‘‘ mere buncombe and claptrap ” in Polk, 
and that he did not intend to do anything against England. 
The House of Representatives, in March, 1846, passed a joint 
resolution to give the one year’s notice for terminating the joint 
occupancy in Oregon, and it looked as if our country would be 
involved in war with two countries at once. 

402 . The Oregon Dispute is settled Peaceably. — Fortunately, 
better counsels prevailed, and a peaceful settlement was reached. 
Our title to Oregon was not clear and unquestionable,” as 
Polk asserted. The claim of neither country was incontestable, 
though we think ours was the better. Neither side wished to 
continue the joint occupancy ; neither country wished to go to 
war to settle the dispute ; neither would give up all to the other. 
So a compromise was the only way to settle the question. After 
our notice for ending the joint occupation had been given, the 
British minister offered a treaty extending the 49th parallel 
(which was our northern boundary to the Rockies) from the 
mountains to the coast, following the Strait of Juan de Fuca to 
the ocean. Polk submitted this offer to the Senate and asked 
its advice and consent ” about accepting the offer. The Sen- 
ate advised the President to accept this boundary, and on Au- 
gust 5, 1846, the Oregon treaty was made on this basis. We thus 
wisely avoided war with Great Britain. 


338 


AMIiRICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The Mexican War 
1846-1848 

304. Annexation causes Mexico to break off Friendly Rela- 
tions with the United States. — When we annexed Texas, we 

annexed her quarrel 


with Mexico. Mexico 
had not given up her 
claim to Texas, and 
she had let it be 
understood that an- 
nexation would be 
considered a cause 
of war. Accordingly, 
when the annexation 
resolution passed 
Congress, the Mexi- 
can minister at Wash- 
ington protested, de- 
manded his passports, 
and thus diplomatic 
relations between the 
two governments were 
severed. 

Such an interna- 
tional situation makes 
it more difficult to avoid war. The Rio Grande was claimed 
by Texas as her western boundary. The old terri- 
torial Texas of 1800, which Spain ceded to France 
and which, as we claimed, France ceded to the 
United States in 1803, had reached to the Rio 
Grande ; but the Mexican state of Texas was bounded 
by the Nueces; and Benton pronounced the Texan claim, from 
the mouth to the source of the Rio Grande, a robbery of Mex- 
ico.’’ It was an extravagant claim, and Mexico would not listen 



Texas 
makes an 
extrava- 
gant claim 
to terri- 
tory. 


TEXAS, OREGON, AND THE MEXICAN WAR 339 


to it. Our resolution annexing Texas left it open for negotia- 
tion. But Polk held that what we had annexed as Texas was 
what Texas claimed to be, and he proceeded on that policy. 

404 . President Polk brought on the War. — There were other 
differences between the two countries. Polk had desig:ns on 
California, which, for the sake of 
a commercial port on the Pacific, 
he wished to obtain, by purchase 
if possible, by revolt if necessary. 

He attempted to renew negotia- 
tions, and he sent Mr. Slidell to 
Mexico to discuss this and the 
matters in dispute ; but Mexico 
refused to receive Slidell, and 
President Polk thus had a ground 
for claiming that he had tried to 
keep the peace. Mexico had been 
. very slow in paying claims for 
damages to American citizens. 

But in spite of these matters war 
might have been avoided but for 
the Texan territorial claim. Polk, 
acting on this claim, assumed au- 
thority over the disputed territory 
between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. When Mexico refused 
to receive our envoy, and, as Polk claimed, threatened Texas with 
a new Mexican invasion, the President ordered General Taylor 
with about four thousand men to advance from Corpus Christi 
on the Nueces to the Rio Grande, to ‘‘protect the Texan 
frontier.’' The Mexicans attacked a scouting party of this 
small army in the disputed territory, and when Taylor’s dis- 
patch announcing this reached Washington, Polk sent a special 
message to Congress (May 12, 1846), in which he said that 
“ Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has 
invaded our territory and shed American blood upon American 
soil, and war exists, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it. 



James K. Polk. 

Mr. Polk was born in North Caro- 
lina in 1795. He was graduated 
from the University of North Caro- 
lina, was Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, and governor of 
Tennessee. He served one term 
as President, and died in 1849. 




340 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


by the act of Mexico herself.” Congress adopted this view 
without inquiring into its truth, and declaring that “war exists 
by the act of the republic of Mexico,” voted money for sup- 
plies and provided for fifty thousand volunteers. Calhoun in 
the South and the Whigs in the North, especially the New, 
Englanders and the antislavery men, strongly opposed the 
war, and denounced Polk’s order and his aggressive policy that 
brought it on. 


405. Americans were criticised for the Mexican War. — Thus, 

we see, our war with Mexico over Texas began the same year 
(1846) that the long dispute with Great Britain over Oregon came 
peacefully to an end. It is often asserted that our government 
was ready to come to a compromise agreement with Great 
Britain, a strong nation, while it drew the sword and asserted 
by violence and aggression the whole of its claim against 
Mexico, a weak nation. It is said that we backed down in fear 
of the strong and acted the part of the wolf against the lamb 
toward weaker Mexico, coveting our neighbor’s territory. Polk 
and his party were accused of forcing the war with Mexico in 
order to conquer California and New Mexico, which they could 
not get by diplomacy. 

While we think our government was to blame for not avoid- 
ing war with Mexico, the insinuation against it of injustice and 
cowardice is not altogether justified. Whether Presi- 
dent Polk was right or wrong in giving the order 
which brought on the Mexican War hinges altogether 
on the ownership of the strip between the Nueces and 
the Rio Grande. At best our claim was a very 
doubtful one, and there could be no glory or honor in a war for 
such a claim. But Polk’s view was that this strip belonged to the 
United States and that he was only defending American terri- 
tory, as he was in duty and honor bound to do. On the other 
hand, if the Mexican claim to this strip were valid, Polk exceeded 
his constitutional authority and he began a wrongful and an 
offensive war without the consent of Congress. It was just 
such a dispute as should have been settled by arbitration and 


Was our 
govern- 
ment to 
blame for 
the Mexi- 
can War ? 


TEXAS, OREGON, AND THE MEXICAN WAR 341 


treaty, and our country would now wish to settle such a dispute 
peacefully in that way. But Polk was not entirely responsible, 
because Congress had already recognized the country beyond 
the Nueces as American territory by including it within the 
revenue system and the Senate had ratified the appointment of a 
revenue officer. So Congress could hardly do less than sup- 
port the President. 



406 . General Taylor wins Victories. — The Mexican War was 
soon ended. It lasted less than two years, from May, 1846, to 
February, 1848, and it was an unbroken series of victories for 
the Americans. Our armies under able commanders, Scott and 
Taylor, showed courage and good fighting qualities, though 
not much honor or glory could be derived in fighting for such 
a cause. 

General Taylor beat the Mexicans at Palo Alto (May 8, 
1846), and the next day again at Resaca de la Palma. He then 
crossed the Rio Grande and took possession of Matamoras. 
Here he rested, awaiting reenforcements, till August, then 
pushed westward into Mexico, attacking the fortified town of 
Monterey. The Americans stormed the walls of Monterey, and 
the Mexicans fell back to the houses, which they used as little 
forts. For three days a desperate fight was carried on from 


342 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


street to street before the town was surrendered (September 24, 
1846). After a six weeks’ armistice for an attempt at negotia- 
tion, Taylor moved on to Saltillo and then to Buena Vista. 
Here he was called on to send ten thousand of his men to 
General Scott, who had been sent to Mexico in chief command 
to carry out another plan of invasion. Taylor was left with 
only five thousand men. 

Santa Anna, knowing Taylor’s weakened condition, thought 
to overwhelm him with an army of twenty thousand men and 
undo all that Taylor had done. He told Taylor he must sur- 
render or be cut to pieces. Taylor chose his ground and against 
great odds totally defeated Santa Anna in the decisive battle 
of Buena Vista, T'ebruary 23, 1846, and the American possession 
of northeastern Mexico was secure. Taylor complained that 
politics at Washington was interfering with his plans, and leav- 
ing General Wool in command he returned to Louisiana. The 
“ Hero of Buena Vista,” or Old Rough and Ready,” as Taylor 
was called by his soldiers, was beginning to be thought of by 
the Whigs as a good candidate to beat the Democrats in the 
next Presidential election. 

407. Scott captures the City of Mexico, September 14, 1847. — 

After capturing Vera Cruz (March, 1847), General Scott began 
a march of two hundred miles for the Mexican capital over the 
route that Cortez had taken more than three hundred years 
before. He stormed Cerro Gordo (April 18, 1847), reached 
Puebla, May 15, where he stayed till August 7 awaiting peace 
negotiations, when he again pushed forward and, by* August 10, 
came within view of the City of Mexico. Then followed the 
victories of Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and finally 
the storming of Chapultepec, and then Scott marched his 
triumphant army into the City of Mexico, September 14, 1847. 

408. Conquest of California and New Mexico. — While the 
victories of Scott and Taylor were in progress, General Kearney 
(June, 1846) marched from the Missouri by the Santa Fe trail 
and conquered Santa Fe and New Mexico. Leaving an 
American civil governor at Santa Fe, Kearney then proceeded 


TEXAS, ORIX;ON, AND THE MEXICAN WAR 343 


westward to take possession of California. But that country 
had already been conquered by General John C. Fremont and 
Commodores Sloat and Stockton and three or four hundred 
American settlers. The vast regions westward from Texas to 
the Pacific Ocean were now in the possession of the Americans. 

The Mexicans, with their armies helpless, their government 
broken up, their capital in the hands of the enemy, were com- 
pelled to submit. There were some in Congress and 
in the Cabinet who wished to take possession of all of 
Mexico, but Polk said he was not prepared to go to 
that extent. He said he “ had been falsely charged 
with bringing on the war for the conquest of Mexico,” but that 
that was not his purpose. . * 

409 . Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. — On February 2, 1848, 
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. Mr. Trist was 
the American commissioner of President Polk. It was agreed 
that the United States should pay fifteen million dollars to 
Mexico and three million dollars more to American citizens who 
had claims against Mexico. Mexico gave up to the United 
States all territory north of the Rio Grande and Gila rivers, 
comprising all that Texas claimed to be, and New Mexico, 
California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and 
Wyoming. The war had cost about one hundred million dol- 
lars and thirteen thousand lives. ^ 

FACTS AND DATES 

1845. Annexation of Texas to the United States. 

1845- 1849. Polk’s Administration. 

1846- 1848. Mexican War. 

1846 (May 13). War with Mexico declared to exist. 

1846. Oregon Treaty with Great Britain. 

1846. The Sewing Machine invented. 

1847 (Sept. 14). City of Mexico taken by Americans. 

1848 (Feb. 2). Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 

Hn 1853 the Gadsden Purchase added the strip south of the Gila River. The area 
of this was forty-five thousand square miles, and the price ten million dollars. 


CHAPTER XXIX 


THE COMPROMISES OF 1850 


410. The Slavery Question soon comes to the Front in the 
Mexican War. — The Mexican War had hardly begun before the 
slavery question came to the front. President Polk asked for 
money to buy territory from Mexico when the time should come 
to make a treaty. Bills were offered in Congress for this pur- 
pose, in August,- 1846, and in January, 1847. The last was the 
‘‘ Three Million Bill.” David Wilmot, a Democrat from Penn- 
sylvania, offered an amendment to these bills, providing that 
slavery should not exist in any territory to be obtained from 
Mexico. 

This was the famous Wilmot Proviso. It came to be used as 
a general term for opposition to the extension of slavery. Its 
principle was the prohibition of slavery in the terri- 
tories by the national government. This afterward 
became the underlying principle of the Republican 
party and the issue on which Abraham Lincoln was 
elected to the Presidency. All those who believed in 
the Wilmot Proviso were against slavery extension, and they 
believed that this extension ought to be prevented by the nation. 
The proviso passed the House but was defeated in the Senate. 
It then became the chief subject of political discussion in the 
country for the next four years (1846-1850). 

This proposal to keep slavery out of the new terri- 
tories offended the South. The Virginia legislature 
said it was an outrage that ought to be resisted at 
all hazards.” Many Southern men said it would lead 
to disunion, and they threatened to secede if it were 
adopted. On the other hand, many Northern legisla- 
tures spoke out in favor of it. 


The Wil- 
mot Pro- 
viso to pro- 
hibit slav- 
ery in the 
territories. 


The South 
threatens 
to secede 
on account 
of the Wil- 
mot Pro- 
viso. 


344 


THE COMPROMISES OF 1850 


345 


411. The Election of 1848. — Slavery in the territories became 

the principal subject of discussion in the campaign and election 

of 1848. In that year the Democrats nominated 

Lewis Cass of Michigan for President and William 

O. Butler of Kentucky for Vice President. The yiar sover- 

^ . eignty. 

party was divided on the slavery question. Northern 
antislavery Democrats wished the party to adopt the Wilmot 
Proviso as one of its principles ; Southern Democrats opposed 
this, and the party platform avoided the question altogether. 
However, the party candidate for President, General Cass, wrote 
a letter in which he spoke against the Wilmot Proviso and 
favored the principle of popular sovereignty.” This would 
leave the settlers in the territories to say for themselves 
whether they would have slavery. This did not sat- «Barn- 
isfy the antislavery Democrats, and many of them, burners.'’ 
called ‘‘Barnburners,” — because they were like the Dutch 
farmer who burned his barn to get rid of the rats — were ready 
to destroy their party to get rid of slavery. 

The Whigs were also divided. They nominated General 
Taylor, the “Hero of Buena Vista,” for President and Millard 
Fillmore of New York, for Vice President. Taylor 
was a slaveholder, and it was not certain that he was ^m?crats 
a Whig. The Whigs refused to adopt the Wilmot on^sia^ery^ 
Proviso as one of their principles. The Southern 
Whigs were opposed to it, while the great body of the Northern 
Whigs were very much in favor of it. So the party was afraid 
to adopt any platform at all. The radical antislavery men, 
called the “ Conscience Whigs,” were dissatisfied with this, and 
they bolted from the party and united with the “ Barnburner 
Democrats ” in a new party. This was the “Free Soil party.” 

This new party held a national convention at Buffalo ^ 

^ J The Free 

in August, 1848, and nominated Martin Van Buren of Soiiers 

sj)0d.k ou-t 

New York for President and Charles Francis Adams against 
of Massachusetts, son of John Quincy Adams, for 
Vice President. The Free Soiiers did not propose to disturb 
slavery in the states where it existed ; but they would consent 


346 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


to no more concessions or compromises, and they insisted that 
Congress should prevent the extension of slavery into the terri- 
tories and that the national government must free itself from all 
responsibility for slavery wherever it had the power. “ We in- 
scribe upon our banner,” they said, “Free Soil, Free Speech,' 
Free Labor, and Free Men, and under it we will fight on and 
fight ever until a triumphant victory shall reward our exertions.” 

The old “ Liberty Party ” had nominated John P. Hale of 
New Hampshire for President, but he now withdrew, and he 
and his followers supported Van Buren and Adams. The Free 
Sobers polled two hundred and ninety-two thousand votes in this 
election. More than one third of these (one hundred and twenty 
thousand) were in New York, where so many Democrats fol- 
lowed Van Buren that General Taylor was able to carry that 
state and win the election. The South stood by Taylor and most 
of the antislavery Whigs of the North who believed in the 
principle of the Wilmot Proviso voted for him too, in the hope 
that the Whig party would still become an antislavery party. 

412. The Conquest of California and Gold Discovery bring up 
a New Question. — Gold was discovered on the Sacramento River 
(January 19, 1848) a few days before peace was declared with 
Mexico. This was an event of the greatest importance. It meant 
more wealth, more money, rising prices, great demand for labor, 
and prosperous times. Excitement arose, and the “ gold fever ” 
raged among all classes of people. Ordinary occupations were 
abandoned in California. P'armers, clerks, carpenters, masons, 
mill hands, rushed to the diggings ” to get rich quick by finding 
gold. Even soldiers and sailors deserted their posts, and ships 
were abandoned by their crews before their cargoes were un- 
loaded. From all parts of the world the gold seekers, “the 
forty-niners,” came flocking to the gold fields, over the plains, 
across the isthmus, around the Horn. In an incredibly short 
time, — by the summer of 1849, — California contained nearly 
one hundred thousand people, and San Francisco had sprung 
from a little hamlet to be a city of twenty thousand. These 
“ forty-niners” were mostly Americans, but there were all sorts 


THE COMPROMISES OF 1850 


347 


and conditions of men among them from all over the world. For 
a while their only government was that of vigilance committees 
and lynch law. But it did not take the people long to organize 
themselves in an orderly way into a state. In September, 1849, 
under the guidance of General Riley, the military governor, a 
convention of delegates met, formed a state constitution exclud- 
ing slavery, and before the new year (1850) they were applying 
for admission into the Union. 



A Train of “Prairie Schooners.” 

Before the railroad was built, and even after its introduction, many set- 
tlers were carried into the western country in these wagons. For pro- 
tection against the Indians the emigrants usually travelled in large parties. 

This irritated the South. They saw that the admission of Cali- 
fornia as a free state would break the balance of power in the Sen- 
ate. Iowa’s admission in 1846 had offset that of Texas 

The equi- 

in 1845, Wisconsin in 1847 had balanced Florida librium 
(1845). There was no other slave state ready to come ^ 
in and there was no prospect of any. The Southerners con- 
tended that California was not ready for statehood ; that it 


348 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


should be organized into a territory in the usual way, and when 
Congress thought California was ready for statehood its people 
could then decide about slavery. The antislavery men, of 
course, wanted to admit California immediately as a free state. 

413 . Questions in Dispute. — There were now several subjects ' 
of dispute between the North and the South : i. The admission 
of California. 2. Slavery in the Mexican cessions. 3. Slavery 
in the District of Columbia. (The Abolitionists were still urging 
Congress to abolish slavery in the capital.) 4. The return of 
fugitive slaves. The Southerners were complaining that owing 
to the work of the Abolitionists and the “ personal liberty laws ” 
of the Northern states, they could not recover their runaway 
slaves. 5. The interstate slave trade. 6. The boundary of 
Texas. Texas claimed a large part of New Mexico, and the 
question was whether the United States would recognize this 
claim'. 

The most difficult of these questions was slavery in the terri- 
tories. This question kept coming up in American politics for 
more than a generation. It had been settled by compromise in 
1820 for all the territory the United States then owned. The 
Mexican War ha^ added eight hundred thousand square miles of 
new territory to the national domain. The Wilmot Proviso pro- 
posed to exclude slavery from all this territory. Some 
said the Missouri line, 36° 30', ought to be extended 
to the Pacific, preventing slavery north of that line, 
permitting it south of that line. President Polk 
favored this plan. This would have divided the terri- 
tory and would probably have satisfied the majority 
in the South. 

The more aggressive Southern men, led by Calhoun, said that . 
slavery should be protected in all the territories by national 
power. They said the territories were the property, 
not of the nation as a whole, but of the states united 
in a partnership. It would be unjust and unequal to 
allow a portion of the partners (the states) outnumbering another 
portion to put them out from this common property. The citizen 


Ways pro- 
posed for 
settling 
the ques- 
tion of 
slavery in 
the terri- 
tories. 


The 

Southern 

view. 


THE COMPROMISES OE 1850 


349 


of Alabama should be allowed to emigrate to the territories 
with his property (slaves) and be protected there just the same 
as the citizen of Ohio with his property, horses and cattle. 
^Therefore, whatever any state recognized as property must be 
protected by the national government as property in the terri- 
tories. This is what Calhoun called equal rights in the territo- 
ries. Unless this were gained the advocates of slavery claimed 
that the South would be excluded from the common territory 
which had been won by the blood and treasure of all. Webster 
reminded them that Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois had been settled 
chiefly by Southern people who had come into these new states 
and territories with the same rights as the people had who came 
from other states ; the only difference was they could not bring 
their local law with them, which allowed them to hold slaves. 
But the radical Southern leaders now insisted that laws protect- 
ing slavery should be adopted and enforced in the territories by 
the whole nation. They wanted slaves to be recognized and 
protected as property by national law. 

The antislavery men of the North objected to this, and said 

that slavery should be excluded from the territories by national 

law. They wanted the Wilmot Proviso adopted. They 

said that slaves were not property, except by the slavery 

view# 

local laws of the slave states ; that outside of those 
states the common, national laws regarded the slaves as persons^ 
not as property ; and that the nation should stand for freedom 
wherever it had control. They asserted that it was the right 
and duty of Congress to prevent the spread of slavery, and to 
see to it that there should be no more slave territories and no 
more slave states. 

Others favored a middle ground, a compromise. They said 
Congress should have nothing to do with slavery in the terri- 
tories, should neither protect it nor exclude it, but leave the 
people of the territories to settle the matter for themselves. 

414. Taylor becomes President. — Such was the situation in 
the fall of 1849 , year General Taylor was inaugurated as 
President. Taylor was a plain, straightforward, honest Southern 


350 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


man. He was a soldier, not a politician, and though a slave- 
holder he was not a slavery extensionist. He was pleased to see 

^ , , California ready for statehood, and he favored the 
Taylor’s 

plan for the same plan for the other territories. He said Con-^ 
gress should leave the matter of slavery alone, and 


Territories. 


the^ people of the territories should form state governments 
under the direction of the military governor, and apply for ad- 



General Zachary Taylor. 


“ Old Rough and Ready,” the “ Hero 
of Buena Vista,” twelfth President of 
the United States, was born in Vir- 
ginia Sept. 24, 1784; died July 9, 
1850. He became a lieutenant in the 
army in 1808 ; fought in the War of 
1812, in the Black Hawk War, 1832, 
in the Seminole War, 1835-1836 ; 
was nominated and elected to the 
Presidency by the Whigs in 1848. 
He was an honest, straightforward 
man, without much education and 
with no political training. He was a 
patriot rather than a partisan. He said 
that if he were elected President he 
“ would not be the President of a party, 
but the President of the whole people.” 


mission to the Union. This would 
have brought them in as free 
states, but Taylor was ready for 
that, as he did not wish to impose 
slavery where it was not wanted. 

415 . Clay, '' the Great Pacifica- 
tor,” proposes a Plan of Settlement. 
— Henry Clay now came forward 
with a plan of compromise. He 
believed the Union was in danger 
and that the Union was essential 
to the happiness and safety of 
the people. He wished to secure 
permanent peace between the two 
sections, and he called upon the 
North and the South to be pa- 
tient with one another and each 
to yield a portion of its claims. 
As a basis of agreement he pro- 
posed : — 

1. To admit California as a 
free state. 

2. To organize the other terri- 
tories acquired from Mexico with- 
out the Wilmot Proviso. 


3. To pass a stronger fugitive slave law. 

4. To pay Texas for her claim to New Mexico. 

5. To abolish the slave trade (not slavery) in the District of 
Columbia. 


THE COMPROMISES OF 1850 


3SI 

6. To declare that Congress had no power to interfere with 
the interstate slave trade. 

7. To declare that it was not expedient to abolish slavery in 
the District of Columbia. 

Clay made an earnest appeal for peace and compromise, for 
“keeping the Union together in one family in harmony and 
concord,” that the “gaping wounds of the country might be 
healed.” He spoke many times urging the adoption of this 
compromise. 

416. Calhoun speaks for the South. — Calhoun spoke for the 
slaveholders of the South. The shadow of death now rested 
on this great man. He was too weak to walk alone to the 
Senate chamber, and he had to sit in his chair while his speech 
was read for him by Senator Mason of Virginia. He listened 
in silence to his own last warning to the North, his last appeal 
for what he considered justice to his beloved South. He 
demanded that the North should concede to the South “ equal 
rights ” in the territories, return the fugitive slaves, and cease 
entirely and forever to agitate the slavery question. He said 
the crisis had been brought about by destroying the equilibrium 
between the sections, and to save the Union it was necessary to 
restore the equilibrium. Calhoun wished sincerely to save the 
Union, but he looked upon the Union as a union of sections, a 
Southern section and a Northern section, the one slave, the other 
free. He saw that the South had ceased to be equal to the North 
in population and wealth, but he wished it forever to remain equal 
in political power. He insisted on this “ political equality ” of 
the South as one of the conditions of the Union. If this were 
not secured he saw the time would soon come when the South 
would have to choose between the Union and slavery, and he 
advised the South to stand by slavery. 

417. Webster speaks for Compromise. — Webster followed 
Calhoun in his famous “Seventh of March Speech.” He spoke 
for the Union, but he did not say much against slavery. He 
blamed the Abolitionists of the North more than the slaveholders 
of the South for the sectional strife of the country. He said 


352 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


the South had more to complain of than the North, and that the 
Abolitionists had done nothing but harm. Webster had always 
been opposed to the extension of slavery, but now he was will- 
ing to give up the Wilmot Proviso. He said he would not 
needlessly reenact a law of God.” He meant that slavery 
would be excluded from New Mexico and Arizona by a law of 
nature, of physical geography ; to insist on the Wilmot Proviso 
could accomplish no good and would only irritate and wound 
the pride ” of the South. 

Webster’s speech greatly disappointed his antislavery 
friends. Whittier, in his poem Ichabod,” which he applied to 
Webster, wrote : — 

“ Of all we loved and honored naught 
Save power remains ; 

All else is gone ; from those great eyes 
The soul has fled. 

When faith is lost, when honor dies, 

The man is dead.” 

But it may be said for Webster that he felt the duty of the 
hour was to save the Union, not to oppose slavery. His great 
influence helped to secure the compromise, and it has been said 
that this speech postponed the war for a decade, until the forces 
of the Union were strong enough for its preservation. 

418. Seward speaks for the Antislavery Cause. — It was 

Seward who spoke for the antislavery spirit of the North. He 
spoke against further concessions and compromises with slavery. 
He opposed the Fugitive Slave Law and favored emancipation in 
the District of Columbia. He said : The Constitution devotes 

the public domain to union, justice, and liberty. But there is a 
higher law than the Constitution which devotes it to the same 
noble purpose.” , The advocates of slavery condemned this 

higher law ” doctrine as if Seward had said that the Constitu- 
tion ought to be violated. He meant only that the law of God 
and reason, as well as the Constitution, condemned slavery. 

419. The Compromise Measures are passed. — Attempt was 
made to pass several of Clay’s proposals in one bill, called the 


THE COMPROMISES OF 1850 


353 


‘‘Omnibus Bill.” This failed, but the measures went through 
one by one. The compromise, as finally agreed, brought about • 
the following results : — 

1. California was admitted as a free state. 

2. New Mexico and Utah were organized without the Wil- 
mot Proviso. 

3. Texas was paid ten million dollars for her claim to New 
Mexico. 

4. A new fugitive slave law was passed. 

5. The slave trade, but not slavery, was abolished in the 
District of Columbia. 

Nothing was done in regard to the interstate slave trade. 

420. The Country accepts the Compromise. — The Abolitionists 
at the North and the slavery expansionists at the South were dis- * 
satisfied, but the great majority 
of the country were well pleased 
with the compromise. The peo- 
ple wanted peace on the subject 
of slavery. All the forces control- 
ling public opinion — the press, 
political parties, public men, and 
even the pulpit — seemed de- 
termined that this compromise 
should be a final settlement, that 
there should be no more agita- 
tion on the subject of slavery. 

421. The Election of 1852. — 

In 1852 both political parties re- 
solved in favor of the compromise 
measures including the Fugitive 
Slave Law. The Democrats were 
reunited and half of the Free Soil 
voters went back to their old par- 
ties. The Democratic candidates 

were Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire and William R. King 
of Alabama. The Whigs nominated General Winfield S. Scott 



Millard Fillmore. 

Millard Fillmore, a self-made man, 
was born in New York in 1800, and 
died in the same slate in 1874. He 
had a hard struggle to obtain his 
legal education, but while still a 
young man became one of the lead- 
ing lawyers of his state. He had held 
many high offices before succeeding 
to the Presidency on Taylor’s death. 


354 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


of Virginia and William A. Graham of North Carolina. The 
Free Soilers, who still wished to keep up the fight on slavery, 
nominated John P. Hale of New Hampshire and George W. 
Julian of Indiana. Pierce was elected. Scott carried only four 
states, the rock-ribbed ” Whig states, — Massachusetts, Ver-^ 
mont, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The Whigs were so badly 
beaten that they never amounted to anything again as a party, 
and some one said that the party “ died of an attempt to swallow 
the Fugitive Slave Law.” 

422. The Fugitive Slave Law is opposed in the North. — It 

was this Fugitive Slave Law that continued to disturb the peace 
on the subject of slavery. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was 
an odious law. A negro seized under this law could not have a 
trial by jury ; he could not testify in his own behalf. A com- 
missioner appointed to try him was allowed ten dollars if the 
negro were proved a slave, but only five dollars if he turned out 
to be a freeman. United States marshals and deputies were 
appointed to execute the act, and any bystander might be called 
upon to assist. Harboring or rescuing a fugitive or preventing 
his arrest was punishable by a fine of one thousand dollars 
and damages to the same amount, or imprisonment for six 
months. 

Public sentiment at the North was against such a law. The 
majority were willing to have it enforced, because it was the 
law and because the South claimed the return of these escaping 
slaves as a constitutional right. But the Northern people did 
not like the law. The capture of slaves fleeing from bondage 
was constantly reminding the people of the North of some of 
the most hateful and barbarous aspects of slavery. The recov- 
ery of a slave often cost as much as he was worth. It would 
have been better for the South if they had submitted to the 
escape of a few of their smarter slaves, who were determined to 
get out of bondage, rather than arouse renewed attacks upon 
the whole system of slavery. 

The radical antislavery men were determined that, law or no 
law, the fugitive slave should not be returned. They resisted 


THE COMPROMISES OF 1850 


355 


the law in every way they could. “ Personal liberty bills/’ which 
had been passed by many Northern states as early as 1840, to 
prevent free negroes from being kidnaped and car- 
ried into slavery, were now strengthened in such a liberty 
way as to obstruct the Fugitive Slave Act. Aboli- 
tion friends of the fugitives helped them on their way. They 
fed the escaping slaves, hid them, and carried them on their road 
toward Canada. These routes became known as the under- 
ground railroad.” 

423. Mrs. Stowe stirs the Country by the Story of Uncle 
Tom. — It was chiefly the Fugitive Slave Law that led Mrs. 
Harriet Beecher Stowe to write ‘‘ Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life 
Among the Lowly” — a story setting forth the evils of slavery 
(1852). This story told of the slave Eliza escaping with her 
baby boy across the river on the floating ice; of ‘‘Old Uncle 
Tom ” sold for debt by a kind master in Kentucky; of his easy 
life with little Eva St. Clair in New Orleans; of St. Clair’s un- 
expected death and of Tom’s being sold up the Red River and 
being whipped to death by the cruel and savage Legree. The 
story came out week by week in an antislavery newspaper. The 
National Era, and afterwards as a book. Thousands of people 
read it. The purpose of Mrs. Stowe was to reveal the actual 
and possible evils of the slave system, and to arouse opposition 
to it. The book made thousands of Abolitionists, and no histor- 
ical novel ever had a greater influence. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1848. Gold discovered in California. 

1848. Free Soil Party Organized. 

1849-1853. Taylor and Fillmore's Administration. 

1850. Clay’s Compromise Measures Passed. 

1850. Fugitive Slave Law Passed. 


CHAPTER XXX 


THE REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE AND THE 

STRUGGLE FOR KANSAS 


424. Pierce becomes President and promises the Country Peace 
on the Subject of Slavery. — On March 4, 1853, Franklin Pierce 



became President. He said 


Franklin Pierce. 

Born in New Hampshire in 1804, and 
died in the same state in 1869. He 
was a lawyer and a graduate of Bow- 
doin College. He was a United 
States senator and had served in the 


he would do all he could to keep 
peace on the slavery question and 
that the compromises should not 
be disturbed or the agitation re- 


newed during his ad- 


The agi- 
tation is 
renewed 
by the re- 

M?slouri ministration 

Compro- 
mise. 


ministration, if he could 
prevent it. Yet his ad- 

was not 
a year old before the 
country was thrown 
into the greatest excitement over 
slavery by an agitation not to be 
allayed until the question was 
settled by civil war. This was 
caused by the Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill of 1854, which repealed the 
Missouri Compromise of 1820. 

425. Douglas proposes the Kan- 


Mexican War before becoming Presi- 
dent. He was in sympathy with 
the South during the Civil War. 


sas-Nebraska Bill. — In January, 
1854, Stephen A. Douglas of 
Illinois proposed the Kansas- 


Nebraska Bill,” providing a government for the Nebraska coun- 


try. He also submitted a long report explaining the measure. 
The bill divided the country into two territories, Kansas on the 
south, Nebraska on the north. It was supposed that Kansas 




REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 


357 


would come into the Union as a slave state and Nebraska as a 
free state, and thus each section be treated fairly. 

Douglas maintained that the Compromise of 1850 had 
superseded ” the Compromise of 1820 ; that the '' old, exploded 
doctrine ” of Congressional prohibition of slavery in the terri- 
tories had given way to the new principle of non-intervention 
by Congress, the principle of ‘‘ popular sovereignty,” 
of leaving the people of the territories to settle the 

^ IT ^ explains 

question of slavery for themselves. As Congress in how the 

r» 1 1 • • r ♦ r T it ^^ 5 ® 

1850 deemed it wise to refrain from settling the dis- superseded 
pute over slavery in the territories by adopting the i82of^^ 
great compromise principle which had been so hap- 
pily and universally accepted by the country, so now, Douglas 
said, he would adopt the same principle. He took the ground 
that in 1850, when Congress refused to apply the Wilmot Pro- 
viso in organizing New Mexico and Utah but left the question 
of slavery in those territories to the people there. Congress was 
laying down a general principle for the organization of all future 
territories, and in doing this it virtually repealed the Missouri 
Compromise. 

Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act, in harmony with this doc- 
trine, now enacted this repeal into law. Douglas said in his 
bill that “the Act of 1820, being inconsistent with the principle 
of non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the territories 
as recognized in the Compromise of 1850, is hereby declared in- 
operative and void ; it being the true intent and meaning of 
this act not to legislate slavery into any territory or state or to 
exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly 
free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own 
way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States.” 

426. What Motive prompted Douglas ? — It is not known what 
moved Douglas to take this course. Perhaps he wished to be 
President, and therefore took this means of gaining the favor of 
the South. It may be he sincerely believed that his measure 
would keep down slavery agitation. If he believed this he was 
woefully mistaken, for the Kansas-Nebraska Bill produced the 


358 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


greatest political agitation the country had ever known. His 
act and doctrine were amazing to the people of the North. It 
was a startling surprise even to the men who had taken part in 
the debates of 1850. Not one of them had ever said or heard 
anything of the kind. They supposed that in 1850 they were^ 
legislating only for the Mexican cessions. They never dreamed 
they were adopting a measure which opened up the rest of the 
Louisiana territory to slavery, from which it had been excluded 
more than thirty years before. 

This seemed like a most unjustifiable attack on the part 
of slavery. It seemed that slavery could not be satisfied where 
Slavery is it was, merely to be let alone, but that it was deter- 
aggressive. j^j^ed to have more territory and more power. Since 

1850 there had been movements for the acquisition of Cuba or 
of more territory in Mexico or Central America, to increase the 
slave power. In this very year (1854) the ‘‘Ostend Manifesto” 

^ was issued. The American ministers to Great Britain, 
The Os- / 

tend Man- France, and Spain (Buchanan, Mason, and Soule) 
met together at Ostend in Belgium, to discuss the 
question of Cuba. They issued a manifesto declaring that the 
United States should offer Spain one hundred million dollars 
for Cuba, but if Spain would not sell, then we should wrest it 
from her” by force. This was the diplomacy of the bully in 
the interest of slavery, a kind of highwayman’s plea that might 
makes right. These things aroused the people of the North to 
the feeling that they must unite to resist these aggressions of 
slavery. 

427 . Appeal of the Independent Democrats. — The Kansas- 
Nebraska Bill was not passed without great opposition. The 
debate was long and bitter. The first call to resistance came in 
the Appeal of the Independent Democrats.” This was written 
by Chase and signed by a few antislavery members of Congress. 
The appeal accused Douglas of bad faith. If this bill shall 
become a law,” it said, ^Hhe blight of slavery will cover the land 
and a fair region consecrated to freedom by a solemn compact 
will be given over to masters and slaves.” Sumner, Seward, 





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CANCER 


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TROPIC 


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DIVISION OF THE AVEST 
-PROPOSED BY FRANCE 
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Longitude 


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359 



36 o 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


I. North 
and South 
arrayed 
against 
one anoth- 
er. 


Chase, and Wade made powerful speeches against the Kansas- 
Nebraska Act, accusing the South of violating its pledges made 
in 1820. In spite of antislavery opposition, however, the bill 
became a law in May, 1854. 

428 . Results of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. — Judged by its 
consequences, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was one of the most 
momentous legislative acts in American history. Its results 
were as follows : — 

1. It opened up again the whole question of slavery in the 
territories. It arrayed the two sections against one another 

for the final struggle. Sumner said it “ set free- 
dom and slavery face to face and bade them grap- 
ple.” People saw that there could be no more 
compromises with slavery. It had to be settled 
whether freedom or slavery should control the 
national policy in the territories. 

2. It caused the dissolution of the Whig party. The great 
leaders of the Whigs, Clay and Webster, had passed away. 

^ Both died in 1852. Some *^old line Whigs,” who had 

Whig par- ^0 interest in the slavery question, still clung to the 
appear^" party, but the great body of the party in the North 
were antislavery men ; they were opposed to the 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill and were ready to organize a new party 
to resist the extension of slavery. Many of the Southern Whigs 
went with the Democrats in favor of slavery. Others joined the 
“Know-Nothings,” or Americans (§ 433), or were afterward 
Constitutional Union men, following Bell of Tennessee. 

3. It caused the division of the Democratic party in the 
North. Many Northern Democrats had voted in Congress 

against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. These joined 
Democratic antislavery Whigs, and together they were 

called the “ Anti-Nebraska men.” They began to 
organize, and in the Congressional elections of 1854 a 
majority of the newly elected Congressmen were against the 
Democrats. Nearly every Northern man who had voted for 
Douglas’s bill was defeated. 


party is 
divided. 


REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 


361 

4. It led to the organization of the Republican party. This 
new party was the direct outcome of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. 
The party was made up of three elements: (i) The ^ 
antislavery Whigs, (2) the Anti-Nebraska Democrats, new Re- 
(3) The Free Soilers. These classes now all united party is 

in a common cause on a common principle : No 
further ex te 71s ion of slavery, 

5. As an immediate result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, a 
struggle began between the free-state men and the slave-state 
men for the control of Kansas. The race- for the 
territory began as soon as the bill became a law. 5 * Slave 

^ ^ , , states and 

This soon led to civil war in the territory. Whether free states 

begin the 

Kansas became a slave or a free state was now to struggle 
depend upon its first settlers. Slave Missouri was saL^^^' 
near at hand. Some rough characters from her 
frontier, called '‘border ruffians,'’ hurried to Kansas. They 
were the first “ squatters ” on the land. They staked their land 
claims, returned home to Missouri, and called on South- _ 

Ihe 

ern men to come to Kansas. A number responded “border 

^ , ruffians ” 

and founded a town on the Missouri River, which invade 
they called Atchison, after Senator Atchison of Mis- 
souri, the man who was directing the proslavery forces. The 
North could send more men into the territory than the South. 
It was richer and more populous. It had more European 
immigrants and young men who were “foot loose" and ready 
to venture West to improve their condition. The slaveholder 
went into Kansas at greater risk. He might lose his slaves. 
They might not be adapted to the soil and climate. It was cer- 
tain that if a fair majority in Kansas were to determine the con- 
test the free states would win. 

429. The New England Emigrant Aid Society is organized. — 

The New England Emigrant Aid Society was organized by two 
wealthy men of Massachusetts, Eli Thayer and Amos Lawrence, 
for the purpose of making Kansas a free state by aiding anti- 
slavery men to go out there. The settlers sent by this society 
founded the town of Lawrence. The proslavery leaders in 


362 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Missouri did not like the work of this society. They thought it 
was not a fair way to compete for the territory ; that every man 
ought to be left free to go to Kansas or not as he chose. They 
accordingly began to arouse the ‘^border ruffians,” the jay- 
hawkers and bushwhackers of the frontier, to meet the society’s 
emigrants with violence. 

430. The Border Ruffians ” elect a Legislature. — In N ovember, 
1854, a territorial delegate was elected to Congress from Kansas. 
In this election the proslavery party was successful, by the aid 
of nearly two thousand Missouri invaders. A more important 
election was that of the territorial legislature in March, 1855. 
The legislature would determine whether Kansas would be slave 
or free. The border counties of Missouri took part in this elec- 
tion also. In these Missouri counties meetings were held for a 
month before election day ; secret societies called “ Blue L6dges ” 
were formed ; and on the election day armed bands of Missou- 
rians marched into Kansas and elected a proslavery legislature. 
Only one free-state man was chosen, but there were three or 
four times as many votes cast as there were legal voters in the 
territory. This legislature adopted the slave laws of Missouri 
and declared Kansas a slave territory. To deny the right to 
hold slaves in Kansas was made a crime. 

431. The Free-state Men refuse to submit to the Proslavery 
Legislature. — The free-state men would not submit to this legis- 
lature. Under their leader, Dr. Charles Robinson, who had 
helped to make California free, they held a convention at 
Topeka, adopted a constitution prohibiting slavery and sub- 
mitted it to the people. The free-state voters ratified it, and a 
governor and a legislature were elected. So by the beginning 
of 1856 there were two rival governments in Kansas. Armed 
conflicts occurred between the two forces. The free-state men 
received a shipment of Sharpe’s rifles, called Beecher’s Bibles,” 
because Rev. Henry Ward Beecher had said that those were 
the Bible arguments ” needed against slavery in Kansas. They 
proposed to stand their ground against what they considered a 
sham territorial legislature. 


REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 


363 


The “ border ruffians from Missouri called in a proslavery 
sheriff to ‘^enforce the law,” and burned and sacked the free- 
state town of Lawrence. This was wanton and unjustifiable 
pillage. In retaliation, “Old John Brown of Osawatomie,” 
breathing out vengeance and slaughter, with a small band of free- 
state men, deliberately dragged from their cabins and murdered 
five men of the other party. So both parties were made to 
appear equally guilty of violence and crime. 

President Pierce and the territorial governor recognized the 
slave-state government as legal, but the free-state government 
had a majority of the Kansas people behind it. The free-state 
legislature was dispersed by Colonel Sumner (July 4, 1856). In 
March this legislature had met, elected two United States sena- 
tors, and asked Congress for admission to the Union under the 
Topeka Constitution. Thus the whole subject of slavery in the 
light of “ Bleeding Kansas ” was again before Congress and 
the country. 

432 . Sumner is struck down in the Senate. — The whole coun- 
try was now in a fever of excitement over affairs in Kansas. 
Senator Sumner of Massachusetts made a powerful speech on 
Kansas in the Senate. He denounced slavery and its advocates. 
In coarse and vulgar language he assailed Senator Butler of 
South Carolina, and after the Senate adjourned, and while Sum- 
ner was seated at his desk, he was brutally assaulted by Preston 
Brooks, a representative from South Carolina, a nephew of But- 
ler. Brooks beat Sumner on the head with a heavy cane, knock- 
ing him senseless to the floor. Sumner was disabled for three 
years from service in the Senate. 

Northern Congressmen publicly denounced Brooks, and Sen- 
ator Wilson of Massachusetts, and Anson Burlingame, a repre- 
sentative from that state, were challenged by Southern men to 
fight duels for their words in Congress. Senator Wade of Ohio, 
with a brace of revolvers on his desk, said he knew of no better 
cause in which a man could die than by standing for freedom of 
speech and debate on the floor of the Senate. He said that he 
proposed to speak out his mind on slavery and not be cowed by 


3^4 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


the duels and bludgeons of the bullies and ‘'fire eaters’’ of the 
South. A majority voted to expel Brooks from the House. He 
resigned, and returned to South Carolina, where he received 
great ovations ; he was presented with many canes, and was 
almost unanimously reelected to Congress. Such was the sec- 
tional bitterness and hatred aroused by the civil war in Kansas, 
and by the renewed discussion in Congress over slavery. 

433 . The Campaign and Election of 1856. — In the midst of 
this excitement the Presidential election of 1856 was coming 
on. The new Republican party was formally organized at Pitts- 
burg, February 22, 1856. The party’s name and principles had 
been announced at a mass meeting held under the 
the^Rep^b- Jackson, Michigan, in July, 1854. It held 

185^1856^* national nominating convention at Philadel- 

phia, June 17, 1856. General John C. Fremont, the 
“ Pathfinder,” was nominated for President and William L. 
Dayton of New Jersey for Vice President. This party pro- 
posed no interference with slavery where it existed, but it re- 
solved that Congress should prohibit in the territories “ those 
twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery,” and it de- 
manded that Kansas should be immediately admitted with her 
free constitution. 

During the break-up of parties in 1854 the “Know-nothing” 
party became strong. The men who organized this party 
sought to cultivate the spirit of “ native American- 
“Know- ism.” They said that the foreigners, German and 
nothings. been lately coming to America in 

great numbers, were too much under the influence of the Roman 
Catholic Church, and that that church was seeking political 
power and ought to be opposed ; that “ Americans should rule 
America ” ; that foreigners should be compelled to live in 
America twenty-one years before being allowed to vote ; and 
that they should not be allowed to hold office at all. The 
“ Know-nothings ” organized themselves together in secret 
lodges and bound themselves by oaths not to reveal the proceed- 
ings nor to vote for any but native Americans. The members 


REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 365 


always claimed to know Clothing about what the party meetings 
had been doing, hence the name. It was a foolish if not a 
dangerous party, and it could not last. Horace Greeley said 
people might as well organize an anti-cholera or an anti-potato- 
rot party. But the ‘‘ Know-nothings ” carried some states and 
elected some Congressmen in 1854. Many good men — Whigs 
and Free Soilers — went into this party as the best means of 
opposing the Democratic party, which was now charged with 
being under the influence of slaveholders and foreigners. 

In 1856 the Know-nothings ” and the Silver Gray,” or Old 
Line,” Whigs, who had not gone to one of the other parties, 
entered the field under the name of ‘‘Americans.” They nomi- 
nated ex-President Fillmore for President and Andrew J. 
Donelson of Tennessee for Vice President. They polled 

874.000 votes, but carried only one state, Maryland. 

The Democrats nominated James Buchanan of Pennsylvania 
for President and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for Vice 
President. Buchanan had been out of the country, as minister 
to England, during the previous four years of strife. He was 
now sure to win a solid South, because the Republi- 
cans could not hope to carry a single slave state. 

^ . publicans 

Buchanan also appealed to the national Union senti- are de- 
ment in the North ; he attacked the Republicans as a as a sec- 
“sectional party,” arraying one part of the Union pa^ty. 
against another part, and he reminded the people of 
Washington’s warning against forming parties on geographical 
lines. 

The “Americans” also blamed the Republicans for sectional- 
ism. Fillmore said: “We see a political party presenting can- 
didates selected for the first time from the free states alone, 
with the avowed purpose of electing them by one part of the 
Union to rule over the whole United States.” 

Southerners said the election of Fremont would be the end of 
the Union. This feeling resulted in Buchanan’s election, though 
the young Republicans made a very spirited canvass and polled 

1.300.000 votes, and had 114 votes in the electoral college. 


366 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Buchanan’s popular vote was 1,800,000 and his electoral vote 
was 174. In all the South Fremont received only a little over 
1000 votes. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1853- 1857. Pierce’s Administration. 

1854. Kansas-Nebraska Act: Repeal of Missouri Compromise. 

1854. Struggle for Kansas Began. 

1854. The Ostend Manifesto. 

1854- 1856. Origin of the Republican Party. 




CHAPTER XXXI 


THE FINAL STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY EXTENSION 

434. Two Long-standing Disputes over Slaves as Property and 
Slavery in the Territories are presented to the Supreme Court. — 

It had been a long-standing dis- 
pute whether slaves were to be 
treated as persons or merely as 
property. The Constitution did 
not clearly settle this. The anti- 
slavery men contended that when 
the Constitution said, ‘'No per- 
son shall be deprived of life, lib- 
erty, or property, without due 
process of law,” this applied to 
those accused of being runaway 
slaves and that the Constitution 
nowhere refers to “ slaves ” or 
considers them as property. They 
said that slaves were property 
only by state laws. The South, 
or the slaveholders, held to the 
“ property doctrine,” — that slaves 
should be considered by the na- 
tional government merely as property. Again, Congress had 
refused to settle the question of slavery in the territories, and 
had left it to the territorial settlers. The people of Kansas, 
as we have seen, had come to regular war and bloodshed in 
trying to settle it. 

435. The Dred Scott Decision. — The Supreme Court was now 
to try its hand at these two questions : Are slaves property by 

367 



James Buchanan. 

Born in Pennsylvania, in 1791, and died 
in the same state, in 1868. He was 
a graduate of Dickinson College, and 
became eminent as a lawyer at an early 
age. He was United States senator. 
Secretary of State, and minister to 
England before becoming President. 








368 


FINAL STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY EXTENSION 369 


national law, and shall slavery be kept out of the territories ? 
The court came into the political arena with a decision touch- 
ing these two questions, — a decision that startled the country, 
and aroused still further the antislavery spirit and agitation. 
This was the famous Dred Scott decision, announced on March 
6, 1857. 

Dred Scott was a Missouri slave whose owner, Dr. Emerson, 
an army surgeon, had taken him first to Illinois and then to 
Minnesota. Slavery was prohibited in Illinois by the law of 
that state, also in Minnesota, a part of the Louisiana Purchase, 
by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. In 1838 Emerson 
brought Dred back to Missouri, and some time after Dred 
sued for his liberty on the ground that temporary residence 
in free territory had made him free. He won his case in the 
lower Missouri court, but the Supreme Court of that state 
decided against him. Soon after a Mr. Sandford of New 
York became Dred’s owner, and as Dred claimed to be a 
citizen of one state while Sandford was a citizen of another, 
a new case was gotten up for trial, this time in the United 
States courts. The United States Circuit Court in Missouri 
decided as the Missouri Supreme Court had done, that Dred 
was still a slave. This meant merely that the court would allow 
Missouri law to decide the case and that temporary residence 
in a free territory did not bring about the freedom 
of a slave after he had been returned to a slave 
state. No great importance would have attached to 
such a decision, but when Dred’s lawyers appealed slavery 

C3.US0 d.iid 

the case to the Supreme Court of the United States supports 
that high court greatly broadened the scope of the view!^' 
decision, setting forth judicial opinions against the 
antislavery cause, on three points of the deepest significance. 

I. That a negro was not a citizen of the United States and, 
therefore, could not sue in the United States courts. He was 
not included either in the Declaration of Independence or in 
the Constitution. Chief Justice Taney, who rendered the de- 
cision, said that in the early days when the government was 


370 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


founded, the black man was not included in the political com- 
munity, and he was looked upon as having no rights which 
the white man was bound tQ respect ” ; and, although more 
humane sentiments may have since arisen concerning the 
negro, his legal and political status had not been changed. 

2. The decision affirmed that a slave was not a person ” 
within the meaning of the Constitution but was on]y property, 
like a horse or a cow, or any other property, and that Con- 
gress could not exclude this property from the territories, but 
was in duty bound to protect it there. 

3. Therefore, the Missouri Conrpromise was unconstitutional 
from the beginning, and any attempt to restore it, or to enact 
any law like the Wilmot Proviso, prohibiting slavery in the 
territories, would be null and void. 

Such was the meaning of the decision. 

436. The Decision over Dred Scott arouses more Agitation. 
— The Court had accepted the Southern view as to the ‘'prop- 
erty doctrine ” and the rights of slavery in the territories. The 
Republican party had been organized for the purpose of pre- 
venting the spread of slavery by keeping it out of the territories. 
If this could not be done, the party had no reason for being. 
The Republicans, therefore, denounced the Supreme Court and 
rejected the decision as partisan and unsound, and refused to 
be bound by it. They did not propose to resist it, but they 
proposed to do what they could to have the country and the 
court overrule it, as the court had before frequently overruled 
its own decisions. They accepted the dissenting opinions of 
Justices Curtis and McLean instead, which said the negro 
might be a citizen, and that Congress had a right to keep slav- 
ery out of the territories. Buchanan had promised in his in- 
augural address that the court would soon settle the question 
of slavery in the territories, and he hoped all excitement on the 
subject would be allayed. Far from settling the question 
or allaying the excitement, the Dred Scott decision only added 
to the bitterness of the struggle. 

The people of the South would not now be satisfied with less 


FINAL STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY EXTENSION 371 


than the Supreme Court had declared were their legal rights. 
So the decision appears to have made slavery a national 
institution by bringing slave property under the protection of 
national law; it declared slavery to be legal in the territories, 
and nobody could prohibit it there till, the people of the new- 
state should do so when they came to make a constitution pre- 
paratory to admission to the Union. 

The aggressive and radical advocates of slavery now seemed 
to be completely triumphant. They had the law on their side, 
as laid down by the highest court of the land. They slavery 
were in control of the Democratic administration, for 
Buchanan, who was a weak and vacillating man, was under 
their influence. He was constantly in fear that the slave- 
holders, if slavery were in any way interfered with, would 
secede and destroy the Union, as they were threatening to do. 

437. The Lecompton Struggle. — The next effort of the slavery 
extensionists was to bring Kansas into the Union as a slave 
state against the will of her people. The proslavery legislature 
of Kansas called a convention at Lecompton, which adopted a 
constitution permitting slavery. The people of the territory 
were not allowed to vote against this constitution. They could 
vote for the constitution with slavery or for it without slavery, 
but nobody could vote against the constitution. Governor 
Walker of Kansas told President Buchanan that the majority 
of the Kansas people were against this Lecompton Constitution, 
but Buchanan accepted it and recommended that Congress 
admit Kansas as a slave state with this constitution. Douglas 
opposed Buchanan’s policy and said that the people of Kansas 
had not a fair chance to vote on the Lecompton constitution 
according to his principle of popular sovereignty. He said he 
did not care whether slavery was voted up or voted down,” 
but that Kansas had a right to the kind of a constitution her 
people wanted. Buchanan’s Lecompton policy of trying to 
force slavery on the people of Kansas was defeated by Douglas, 
and it led to another division of the Democratic party on 
slavery. 


372 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Lincoln 
says slav- 
ery is 
wrong 
and the 
nation 
must stand 
against it. 


438 . The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858. — In 1858 Douglas 
was a candidate for reelection to the Senate from Illinois. 
Lincoln was nominated by the Republicans as a candidate 
against him. Lincoln’s speech in accepting the nomination 
(June 16, 1858) is one of the most famous speeches in American 
politics. He said the nation could not endure half slave and 
half free ; it would have to become all one thing or all the 
other. 

He thought the nation would have to be controlled either by 
men who thought slavery was right and would try to extend it, 
or by men who thought it was wrong and would try 
to restrict it. To many politicians this speech seemed 
too radical, and they said it would result in Lincoln’s 
defeat. Lincoln said : The time has come when 

these sentiments should be uttered ; if I go down 
because of this speech, then let me go down linked to 
the truth; let me die in the advocacy of what is just and right.” 

Douglas and Lincoln, the rival candidates, spoke in a 
series of joint debates before the people of Illinois. They dis- 
cussed the questions of the day in the open air, and 
people flocked from miles around to hear these 
champions speak. Douglas was a famous debater, 
one of the greatest in the country. He had mag- 
netism, the gift of oratory, and a great personal fol- 
He had been many years in Congress (since 1843), 
had a national reputation, and he had successfully met great 
leaders like Sumner, Chase, and Seward in senatorial discus- 
sion. His followers called him the Little Giant of the West,” 
and they considered him invincible in debate. 

Beside Douglas, who was short and fat, standing five feet 
three, stood Lincoln, six feet four, — tall, lean, gaunt, and 
homely. Lincoln was not an orator. His voice was shrill, 
piping, and unpleasant, and his manner was awkward. He 
knew the people thought Douglas a great man, much greater 
than himself. But Lincoln was honest, plain, and straight- 
forward. The people called him “ Honest Abe.” He was 


The dif- 
ference 
between 
Douglas 
and Lin- 
coln. 

lowing. 


FINAL STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY EXTENSION 373 


good-humored and had a great fund of good stories to tell. 
But more important than any of these things, Lincoln had one 
all-powerful advantage, — he was on the right side. He said 

a live dog is better than a dead lion.” For purposes of oppos- 
ing slavery he thought Douglas, with all his ability, might as well 
have been dead. 

Douglas had said he did not care whether slavery was 
extended or not. He did not care about the right or wrong of 
slavery. Lincoln cared^ and he wanted a national policy as to 
slavery which would deal with it as being wrong. Douglas 
would not force slavery on Kansas and other territories against 
the will of their people, as Buchanan and some Southern 
leaders were trying to do, but he was willing to let it go 
into the territories if a majority of the people there wanted 
it. Lincoln said that this was like saying that if one man 
wanted to enslave another no third man had a right to object. 
He said that even if the white men in Kansas should choose to 
enslave the black men, all the rest of the people had a right, 
and it was their duty, to prevent it. 

Lincoln asked Douglas a question which led Douglas to 
say that, in spite of the Dred Scott decision, the people’ of 
Kansas, by unfriendly legislation,” could keep slavery out 
of Kansas before they were ready for statehood. The South 
would not support Douglas for the Presidency after that. 

Douglas won the Illinois senatorship, but Lincoln Lincoln 
‘‘had his eye on bigger game.” This debate gave had the 
Lincoln a wide reputation. His party felt that he the de- 
had stood up boldly for the right, that he had really 
beaten Douglas in debate, and his victory paved the way for 
the Presidency in i860. 

439. John Brown makes a Mad Attempt to free the Slaves. — 

In this period of intense excitement occurred an event which 
made it more difficult, if not impossible, to solve the slavery ques- 
tion in a peaceful way. This was John Brown’s raid. To Brown, 
slavery was the sum of all villainies. He had vowed eternal 
war and hatred against it. He thought it was too late to vote 


374 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


slavery down. He believed, as he said, that the crimes of this 
guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.” He 
was ready for more bloody work. On October i6, 1859, with a 
band of twenty men, he seized the United States Arsenal at 
Harpers Ferry, in Virginia. He expected to arouse the slaves; 
he would put arms in their hands and let them fight for their 
freedom. He would encourage the slaves to run away, harbor 
them in the mountains, and thus make slave property of so 
little value that the South would be compelled to free its slaves. 
The attempt was madness and folly. The slaves, of course, did 
not rise. Brown was soon captured by United States marines 
under Colonel Robert E. Lee ; ten of his followers, including 
one of his sons, were killed, and Brown was tried, convicted, 
and executed for murder and treason under the laws of Vir- 
ginia. 

The different views of John Brown and his work illustrate 
very clearly how far apart the North and South were in the 
slavery conflict, and what a spirit of war and disunion was 
abroad in the land. Many of the Abolitionists of the North 
regarded Brown as a martyr to liberty ; they com- 
mended his spirit and applauded his purpose, if not 
his method. Eraerson called him a hero, and Gerrit 
Smith said that, of all men in the world. Brown was 
most truly a Christian.” Martyr services ” were 
held in Concord, Massachusetts, on the day of his execution, and 
a poem was recited in his honor. The closing lines of the poem 
are as follows : — 


Brown 
was con- 
demned by 
some and 
praised by 
others. 


“ And then the humble poor will come 
In that far-distant day, 

And from the felon’s nameless grave 
They’ll brush the leaves away ; 
And gray old men will point the spot 
Beneath the pine tree shade, 

As children ask with streaming eyes 
Where old John Brown is laid.” 


The South was thrown into intense excitement and rage at 
this attempt to arouse their slaves to insurrection. They con- 


FINAL STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY EXTENSION 375 


eluded from the abolition expressions that the North indorsed 
Brown’s acts, and, in that case, they very naturally felt that 
their homes and firesides were unsafe in the Union. 

They regarded Brown’s act as he intended it, an act is alarmed 
of war on slavery. They now demanded of Congress Brown’s 
a sedition act to prevent any future attempt to arouse 
people against slavery. Most moderate men at the North con- 
demned Brown. An attempt was made to fasten some responsi- 
bility for his course upon the Republican party, but without 
success. In i860 that party condemned Brown’s act as ‘Uhe 
gravest of crimes.” 

440 . The Election of i860. — The two sections were drawing 
farther and farther apart. The slavery question had divided 
churches and broken up political parties. So far, the Demo- 
cratic party had maintained its national character, under the 
control of Southern leadership. This party now divided into a 
Northern wing and a Southern wing. In its national convention 
at Charleston, South Carolina, in i860, the Southern delegates, 
being denied their demands in the platform, bolted from the 
convention and nominated a ticket of their own. There were 
now four parties in the field : — 

The RepiLblicans nominated Lincoln and Hamlin, on a plat- 
form demanding that Congress should prohibit slavery in the 
territories. 

The Southern Democrats nominated Breckinridge and Lane 


on a platform demanding that Congress should protect slavery 
in the territories. 

The No 7 ^thern Democrats, with Douglas and Johnson as their 
candidates, stood for ‘‘ popular sovereignty,” that is, that the 
settlers in the Territories should decide whether there should 
be slavery or not. 

The Constitutional Unio 7 i party nominated Bell of Tennessee 
and Everett of Massachusetts. They wished to disregard the 
slavery question entirely. They declared for the Constitution 
of the country, the Union of the states, the enforcement of the 
laws.” 


376 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


It was seen that the division in the Democratic party made 
Lincoln’s election almost certain. Southern men freely de- 
clared that if he were elected the cotton states would secede. 
They said they would not submit to “ Black Republican ” rule. 
Douglas and Bell also said the Union was in danger, but the 

The North R^P^^blicans Said this cry, ‘‘the Union is in danger,” 

refuses to was like the cry of “ wolf ” ; it had been a false cry 
be fright- ^ ^ 

ened about many times betore and it was now made to frighten 

disunion. people from voting for Lincoln. This cry had elected 

Buchanan in 1856; and Seward said this threat of “breaking 

up the Union ” had been made for twenty years and that now 

the Northern people should stand by their principles and not be 

afraid ; that the Southern leaders would not do as they said. 

It seems the North and the South were no longer able to 

understand one another. Every Northern state voted for 

Lincoln, and he was elected. Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee 

voted for Bell and Everett. The majority of their people were 

Union-loving men. Douglas carried only Missouri and a part 

of the electoral vote of New Jersey, although his popular vote 

was next to that of Lincoln. All the rest of the slave states 

voted for Breckinridge. 

Lincoln was elected. Northern opponents of slavery felt 
that freedom was triumphant ; that slavery would now be kept 
within bounds. The country should return to the 
principles of the fathers, of Washington, Jefferson, 
Mason, and Madison, who wished slavery limited 
to the states in which it then existed. Thus the North had 
spoken. What would be the answer of the South } 


Lincoln 

was 

elected. 


FACTS AND DATES 

1857-1861. Buchanan’s Administration. 

1857. The Dred Scott Decision. 

1858. The Lincoln-Douglas Debate. 

1858. Silver discovered in Nevada. 

1859. John Brown’s Raid. 


CHAPTER XXXII 


SECESSION AND DISUNION 


441 . South Carolina begins Secession. — In i860 South Caro- 
lina was the only state that still retained the practice of choosing 
her Presidential electors by the state legislature. On the day 
that Lincoln was elected the South Carolina legislature was in 
session for this purpose. After appointing electors to vote for 
Breckinridge and Lane the members of the legislature did not 
adjourn and go home ; they waited to hear the result of the 
election. Three days after it was known that Lincoln was 
elected, the legislature called a convention of the people of 
South Carolina. This convention assembled on December 17, 
i860, and after only three days’ deliberation passed, on 
December 20, i860, what was called an ordinance to dis- 
solve the union between the state of South Carolina and other 
states united with her under the compact entitled the Constitu- 
tion of the United States of America.” After the ordinance was 
properly signed the president of the convention proclaimed the 
state of South Carolina an independent Commonwealth.” 
Thus South Carolina seceded, and it was publicly announced 
that the Union was dissolved. On the following day the 
Charleston papers published items from other states under 
the head, Foreign News.” 

This meant that South Carolina would govern herself and no 
longer recognize the authority of the United States. She 
claimed the right to do this because, as she said, the ^ ^ 

^ ’ South Caro- 

Union was only a league, not a nation, and that the lina^hoids 
“compact,” as she called the Constitution, had been “ compacU» 
broken. The state gave reasons for exercising this 
right of secession. These reasons may be found in South 

377 


378 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Carolina’s Declaration of Causes.” They all related to slav- 
ery. Few, if any, of the Southern people denied the right of a 
state to secede if it saw fit, although General Lee said that there 

was not sufficient cause for seces- 



Jefferson Davis. 


sion and that such a step would 
be revolution. But when a state 
announced its will to secede, the 
Southern people believed that all 
its citizens, whether they were sup- 
porters or opposers of secession, 
were bound to maintain the will 
of the state, even to the. extent 
of war against the United States. 
But this issue would not have been 
presented if it had not been for 
slavery. It was slavery that ar- 
rayed the will of the state against 


Born in Kentucky, June 3, 1808; 
died at New Orleans, Dec. 6, 1889. 
West Point graduate, 1828 ; served in 
the Black Hawk War, 1831-1832; 
moved to Mississippi and was elected 
to Congress, 1845-1846; resigned to 
go to the Mexican War ; United 
States senator from 1847 5 

Secretary of War under President 
Pierce, 1853-1857 ; again United 
States senator from 1857 to 1861, 
when he withdrew to join the Con- 
federacy ; inaugurated as President 
of the Confederate States, Feb. 18, 
1861, and served throughout the 
war; captured by the Union troops 
at Irwinsville, Georgia, May 10, 
1865 ; imprisoned two years at For- 
tress Monroe, was released on bail, 
and was never brought to trial. 


the United States in i86i. 

442. Formation of the Southern 
Confederacy, i86i. — Other slave 
states followed South Carolina. 
Within six weeks (by February i, 
1861) Mississippi, Florida, Ala- 
bama, Georgia, Louisiana, and 
Texas had seceded from the Un- 
ion. Each gave for its action vir- 


tually the same reason as that 
assigned by South Carolina, — the 
interests of slavery. On Febru- 
ary 4, 1861, delegates from six 
states met at Montgomery, Ala- 
bama, formed a constitution, established a provisional govern- 
ment, which they called the Confederate States of America,” 
and elected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi President and Alex- 
ander H. Stephens of Georgia Vice President of the new 


confederacy. 


SECESSION AND DISUNION 


379 


Southern senators, United States judges, and other officers 
resigned their positions, saying they would no longer serve or 
obey the United States. While they were seceding, the South- 


erners seized all the United States 
mints, forts, arsenals, and public 
buildings within the ^ ^ 

^ Forts and 

seceding states. By arsenals 

1 , are seized. 

March i, i86i, only 
Fort Pickens, at Pensacola, and 
Fort Sumter, at Charleston, were 
left in possession of the United 
States. Thus the Union was dis- 
solving. The nation’s authority 
was defied, its offices were va- 
cated, its loyal representatives 
driven out, and its flag was hauled 
down throughout seven states of 
the Union. 

443. President Buchanan takes 
no Steps to defeat Secession. — 
Meanwhile, in December, i860. 
Congress met. Buchanan was 
under the influence of Southern 
men and he sympathized with 
their state rights views. In his 
message to Congress he blamed 
the antislavery men of the North 
for all the trouble, and he made 
out that South Carolina had just 



Alexander Hamilton Stephens. 

Statesman; born Feb. ii, 1812, died 
March 4, 1883. Whig leader in 
Georgia; elected to Congress in 1843, 
serving sixteen years in the House 
of Representatives ; in 1861 he op- 
posed secession in the Georgia Con- 
vention, but went with his state and 
became Vice President of the South- 
ern Confederacy; served ten years 
in Congress after the war ; was 
elected governor of Georgia in 1882. 
Stephens favored the Compromise 
of 1850, and though he tried to pre- 
vent his state from seceding, he 
was an ardent defender of slavery. 
Plis famous “ corner stone speech ” 
at Savannah, 1861, was in advocacy 
of the natural inequality of the races. 


cause for seceding. Then he said South Carolina had no con- 
stitutional right to secede ; but if she did secede the nation could 
not prevent it, for the general government had no power to 


‘‘ coerce a state.” 


Buchanan seemed not to understand that America was a 
nation and that the general government had a right to enforce 
its laws and to suppress an insurrection of its citizens. 



380 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The Union 
spirit re- 
vives in 
Buchanan’s 
Cabinet. 


So Buchanan’s message proposed no policy. He wanted to 
wait until the storm blew over or until his successor came into 
office. The secessionists, therefore, saw that they 
would have till the 4th of March to carry out their 
plans without interference. General Cass of Michi- 
gan resigned as Secretary of State (December 12, 
i860) because Buchanan would not attempt to hold the 
Southern forts. Some of the Southern men retired from the 
Cabinet to help on in the work of secession. Joseph Holt of 
Kentucky, Edwin M. Stanton of Ohio, and John A. Dix of New 
York, Democrats of backbone, who believed, like Jackson, that 
‘Hhe American Union must and shall be preserved,” came into 
the Cabinet, and General Dix sent a ringing message to a 
revenue officer in New Orleans, ‘Hf any man attempts to 
haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot.” This 
gave hope and spirit to the Union men of the North. 

Buchanan at last broke away from the influence of the seces- 
sionists. On January 9 he attempted to send provisions to 
Fort Sumter in the steamer Star of the West, but the vessel was 
fired on in Charleston Harbor and was forced to turn back. 
This was an attack on national authority and may be con- 
sidered in a sense the first act of war. 

444 . The Crittenden Compromise, 1861. The Peace Congress. 
— All sorts of plans were proposed in Congress for conciliation 
and compromise, to persuade the South to come back and not 
break up the Union. The most notable was .that of Senator 
Crittenden of Kentucky, the successor of Henry Clay. He 
proposed what is known as the “Crittenden Compromise,” that 
the line should be restored, that slavery be retained in 

the District of Columbia, that fugitive slaves be paid for by the 
national government if not returned, and that Congress should 
never be authorized to interfere with slavery in the states. 

It seems surprising at this day, after a successful war has 
firmly established our nationality, that such a spirit of concession 
and surrender manifested itself in Congress and the North in 
the face of the secession movement, in the winter of 1 860-1 861. 


SECESSION AND DISUNION 


381 


The majority of the North would no doubt have voted for the 
Crittenden Compromise. All the Douglas men and the Bell 
and Everett men would have done so, and many of the Republi- 
cans seemed frightened at what they had done in voting for 
Lincoln. The majority were ready for almost anything to save 
the Union and avoid war. A ‘‘peace congress,” at Washing- 
ton, under the lead of ex-President Tyler, in which twenty-one 
states were represented, proposed terms similar to the Crittenden 
Compromise. Congress, by a two-thirds vote, adopted a thir- 
teenth amendment^ — very unlike the one adopted four years 
later, — guaranteeing that the Constitution should never permit 
the national authority to interfere with slavery in the states. 
Wendell Phillips said the Southern states had a right to set up 
an independent government if they wanted to. Horace Greeley, 
editor of the New York T^dbnne^ the most influential of the 
Republican papers, said, “ Let the erring sisters go in peace,” 
and “ if the cotton states choose to form an independent nation, 
they have a clear moral right to do so.” 

445. The North demands the Enforcement of the Constitution 
and the Laws. — Many good men believed that the men who 
made the Union never intended it to be preserved by force. 
But the people of the North soon came to believe that further 
compromise was useless ; that the South intended either to rule 
or ruin the government ; that Lincoln, having been fairly elected, 
should be inaugurated, and the question squarely met whether or 
not the national law should be obeyed, and whether the voice of 
the majority, expressed through the regular forms of the Con- 
stitution, should be submitted to or defied. Under Lincoln’s 
leadership the people soon recovered from their panic of doubt 
and fear, and arose to defend the life of the nation. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1860 (Dec. 20). Secession of South Carolina. 

1861 (Feb. 4). Formation of the Southern Confederacy. 

1861-1865. Lincoln’s First Administration. 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


THE CIVIL WAR 
The First Year in the East 

446 . Lincoln becomes President. — On March 4, 1861, Abra- 
ham Lincoln became President of the United States. He came 
into office at one of the most trying times in the history of the 
country, in the face of disunion and Civil War. Not since 
Washington led the armies of the Revolution had any one man 
been so important to the country as Lincoln was in 1861. The 
choice of Lincoln, though he was not well known at the time, 
turned out to be a most fortunate one. He is now ranked 
with Washington among the greatest of our Presidents. 

447 . Lincoln was opposed to Slavery but was not an Abolition- 
ist. — On the subject of slavery Lincoln was not an Abolitionist. 
Yet he was opposed to slavery and wished to see the time soon 
come when all men in America would be free. He said to 
John Hanks, when on a flatboat trip to New Orleans in 1831, 
where they had been witnesses of a slave market, If ever I 
get a chance to hit slavery. I’ll hit it hard.” He got a chance 
and, as we know, he gave slavery its deathblow in 1863. Lin- 
coln believed in equal rights for all. In 1858, he said in answer 
to Douglas, who accused him of desiring to make the negro the 
social equal of the white man, In his right to the bread which 
he has earned by the sweat of his brow, the black man is my 
equal, the equal of Judge Douglas or of any other man.” We 
see from this that Lincoln loved justice. He wanted fair play 
and a square deal ” for all men, high or low, rich or poor, 
white or black. 

Lincoln believed that if slavery could be kept from expand- 
ing it was doomed to die. The Southern defenders of slavery 

382 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE FIRST YEAR 


3S3 


believed this too. On that subject Lincoln would not com- 
promise. No fttrther extension of slavery^ — that was 
the principle on which his party had been created stood 
and on which he had been elected. Lincoln would fh^ex^en- 
not yield it. .If the South would destroy the Union 

J ^ slavery. 

by war rather than see it live on that principle, Lin- 
coln would accept war rather than see it perish. 

But Lincoln did not propose to overturn the institution of 
slavery in the Southern states or take away the slave property 
of the Southern people. He felt that Southern 
slavery was their business, not his. He was even 
willing for the Fugitive Slave Law to stand and be 
enforced, and because of that many good men were 
disposed to blame him, and he was called by Wendell 
Phillips 'Hhe slave hound of Illinois.” He said in his inaugu- 
ral address: have no purpose to interfere with slavery in 

the states where it exists. I have no lawful right to do so and 
I have no inclination to do so.” 

448. The South misunderstood the North and seceded in De- 
fense of Slavery. — Lincoln had said this repeatedly before, 
but the South did not believe him or did not understand him. 
They distrusted him and his party, and supposed the Northern 
majority would try to make the Southern people free their 
slaves. They were determined not to submit to the rule of 
the Republican party. They knew that party was against 
slavery in spirit and purpose, and they were convinced that 
the slave interests were not safe within the Union. They 
determined to secede and make a new Union of slave states 
only, for the purpose of making their slave property more secure. 

449. The North fought to save the Union, not to destroy 
Slavery. — But the great majority of the Northern people had 
no intention of interfering with slave property in the South. 
They were determined only to restrict the area of slavery. If 
the South had not seceded and attacked the national authority, 
if it had been satisfied to keep slavery where it was, there would 
have been no war. It is also probable that slavery would not 


384 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


have been abolished for many years to come. But when the 
South appealed to disunion and fired on the flag, the whole 
North was aroused as well as a majority of the border slave 
states, — Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware. The 
issue was no longer slavery and its extension. On that issue 
the people of the North were divided, but on saving the Union 

they were united. They were de- 
termined that the Union should be 
preserved, and that there should 
not be two republics within the 
United States., 

We have seen that slavery was 
the cause of the war. But it must 
not be understood that to abolish 
or to defend slavery was the object 
of the war. The North did not go 
to war and invade the South to 
abolish slavery. It was to save 
the life of the nation and to pre- 
serve the Union. They believed 
the Union should be perpetual, 
that it was not m 
or a league of states, but that it 
was one nation not to be destroyed 
at the will of any state, and that 
it should never be broken up, but 
should be ‘‘an indivisible union of 
secession was rebellion, and that 
the Constitution and the laws should be enforced throughout 
the land. In the beginning of the war Congress officially de- 
clared that the purpose of the war was not to interfere with 
slavery, but to preserve the Constitution and the Union and to 
enforce the laws; and in the midst of the war, Lincoln said that 
if he could save the Union by freeing all the slaves he would do 
that, if he could save the Union by leaving them all in bondage 
he would do that, and if he could save the Union by freeing 


erely a compact 



William H. Slward. 

Statesman; born at Florida, New 
York, May 16, 1801, died at Auburn, 
New York, Oct. 10, 1872 ; lawyer ; in 
State Senate, 1830-1834; governor 
of New York, 1838-1842 ; elected to 
the United States Senate as an Anti- 
slavery Whig, serving from 1849 to 
1861 ; helped to organize the Repub- 
lican party ; Secretary of State under 
Lincoln and Johnson, 1861-1869. 

indestructible states ” ; that 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE FIRST YEAR 


385 


some of the slaves and leaving others in bondage he would do 
that; his chief object was to save the Union. While it is true 
that the Northern soldiers enlisted in a war for the Union, and 
not in a war for abolition of slavery, it soon became known that 
the success of the Northern armies meant liberty for the slaves 
as well as union for the states. 

450. The South fought for Independence and Self-government 
and against “Coercion.” — On the other hand, in justice to the 
South, it must be remembered that v/hile the interests of slave- 
holders involved the South in war, the Southern soldiers were 
not fighting to defend slavery. Two thirds of them never 
owned a slave, and if it had been officially announced that the 
maintenance of slavery was the object of the war the Southern 
armies would soon have been disbanded. 

The Southern people were brave, and they were true to their 
convictions. They sincerely believed that their states had a 
right to secede and that their first allegiance was due to their 
state.; that they were fighting for home rule, for local self- 
government, for separate national independence. They thought 
the North had no right to invade their states to force them 
into submission. “ Coercion ” was odious to many Southern 
men who cared little for slavery. They would not have a Union 
pinned together by bayonets. Rather than be “ submissionists ” 
and see a sovereign state brought under the yoke by military 
power, they would join together and fight for independence and 
the right of a state to determine its own course. Virginia, 
North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas did not secede until 
after the war began, and they went with the South, as they said, 
not to defend slavery, but because they would not have the 
national government “coerce a state.” 

451. War begins by the Attack on Fort Sumter. — The Civil 
War began with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, April 
12, 1861. After Lincoln decided to send provisions and 
reenforcements to Major Anderson there. General Beauregard, 
the Confederate commander, was ordered to reduce the 
fort. “ Having defended the fort for thirty-four hours,” says 


386 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 




Anderson, ‘‘until the quarters were entirely burned, the main 

Anderson destroyed by fire, the magazine surrounded by 

su^enders flame, ammunition gone, and no provision remaining 

ter, April but pork, I accepted the terms offered by General 

i 4 » 1861. Beauregard and marched out of the fort on Sunday 

afternoon the 14th, with colors flying, drums beating, and salut- 
ing my flag with fifty guns/’ 

No lives were lost in this conflict, but it was one of the most 

important events in the history of 
the country. The flag had been 
fired on and war had begun, — one 
of the greatest and most dreadful 
civil wars in human history. Lit- 
tle did the people on either side 
realize what a conflict was before 
them. 

452 . The National Uprising, 
April, 1861. — Lincoln called for 
seventy-five thousand volunteers 
for one hundred days to suppress 
the insurrection and to enforce 
the laws. Union mass meetings 
were held all over the land. Party 
differences were forgotten. Dem- 
ocrats and Republicans rallied to- 
gether around the flag. Northern 
governors responded with loyalty 
and promptness ; volunteers were enlisted and troops were sent 
forward to sustain the government. It was a spontaneous upris- 
ing of patriotism, a wonderful manifestation of the national spirit. 

453 . The Strength of the Two Sections. — Tvv^enty-two states 
now stood for the Union and the assertion of national authority. 
Eleven states stood for the Confederacy and independence. 
The twenty-two states had a population of about twenty-two 
millions. One half million of these were slaves. The eleven 
states had a population of nine millions. Three and one half 



P. G. T. Beauregard. 

Confederate general ; born in New 
Orleans, May 28, 1818, died there, 
Feb. 20, 1893. Studied at W^est Point; 
fought in the Mexican War, and was 
one of the leading generals of the 
Southern armies during the Civil War. 









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THE CIVIL WAR: THE FIRST YEAR 


3^7 


millions of these were slaves. Thus the free white people were 
four to one on the Union side; but the slaves were a great aid 
to the South in the war, in raising supplies and in the work of 
the camp. 

The North was much superior also, in money, wealth, and 
resources ; in business enterprise, skilled laborers, and self- 
supporting workers ; in transportation facilities, in 
shipbuilding and naval equipment, and in all the dependence 
products of factory and farm. The South was depend- 
ent on Europe or the North for almost everything 
that it used, ‘‘for almost every yard of cloth and every coat 
and boot and hat that we wear, for our axes, scythes, tubs, and 
buckets,’' for everything “ from matches and shoe pegs to steam- 
ships and statuary." In wheat, corn, oats, meats, and milk, — 
in everything that would afford feed for horses and food for 
men, the South was greatly inferior. 

The South was of greater area than the North, leaving out 
the territories and the Pacific slope. The North had 768,000 
square miles, the South 875,000, but more of the land in the 
South was uncultivated, and the South relied chiefly on its 
one product, cotton. When her cotton could not be sold for 
goods abroad, the South was fatally crippled. 

These things will lead us to understand why the North suc- 
ceeded and the South failed. It was owing to superior numbers, 
resources, and greater industrial capacity at the North. Manly 
courage, ability, self-sacrifice, patriotic devotion to a cause, — the 
South had these qualities in an equal degree with the North. 

454 . Virginia gives Strength to the South. West Virginia with- 
draws. — Virginia’s secession greatly strengthened the South. 
This made Virginia the theater of war in the East and it brought 
the Confederate forces very close to the national capital. Rich- 
mond became the capital of the Confederacy, and Virginia con- 
tributed Generals Robert E. Lee and “Stonewall’’ Jackson, the 
greatest soldiers of the South, to the Confederate cause. West 
Virginia, however, seceded from Virginia, and these forty-five 
counties west of the mountains were recognized by Congress 


388 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


and admitted as a state (1863). From this new state, and from 
Kentucky and East Tennessee, where the Union sentiment was 



Robert Edward Lee. 

Leading Confederate general ; 
born in Virginia, Jan. 19, 1807, 
died, Oct. 12, 1870; West Point 
graduate, 1829; served in the 
Mexican War ; though opposed 
to secession in 1861, he obeyed 
the voice of his state, resigned 
his command in the United 
States army, and offered his ser- 
vices to Virginia and the South. 
His military ability was a source 
of great strength to the Confed- 
eracy. He was a master in defen- 
sive warfare, a man of pure mo- 
tives and high sense of duty. 
After the war Lee became presi- 
dent of what is now Washington 
and Lee University, a position 
which he held until his death. 


Strong, the Union armies received 
many volunteers. 

455. Preparations begin. — The 
first work to be done was to drill 
the raw recruits into disciplined 
troops. It was the volunteers from 
civil life the government had to 
rely on. The ‘‘boys in blue” did 
not like to join the regular army. 
It was a stupendous task to trans- 
form these fresh volunteers into 
trained soldiers. It could not be 
done in three months. They were 
impatient of discipline and wholly 
unused to military life. 

The war took the people of the 
North by surprise. Very few really 

believed war would come, 

was un-^^ people were 

prepared totally unprepared, and 

when war came they said 
it would be over soon. Seward 
said the trouble would blow over 
in sixty days.” Some one said Gen- 
eral Sherman was ‘‘crazy” for say- 
ing that it would take two hundred 


thousand men and four years to subdue the South. Sherman had 
been living in the South, and he knew. It was nearly a year after 
the war began before the North got ready to fight. 

456. The Military Objects in View. — Each side had three im- 
mediate objects in view: (i) To protect its own capital. (2) 
To capture its enemy’s capital. (3) To defeat the opposing 
army. Washington, on the boundary line, was in danger. 
A battery on Arlington Heights, across the Potomac, could 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE FIRST YEAR 


389 


make the city and the White House untenable. The loss of 
the capital might have proved disastrous. Northern troops 
hurried forward to protect Washington. The Sixth Massachu- 
setts regiment had to fight its way through Baltimore 

in the face of rioters, and some of the soldiers and Washing- 

toil. 

citizens were killed. Here was the first bloodshed of 
the war. Within six weeks ten thousand soldiers were in Wash- 
ington, and it was felt that the city was safe. 

The approach to Richmond was blocked by the Chickahominy 
River and its dangerous marshes. To attack Rich- 
mond from the south side would require a navy. To proach to 
attack from the west would expose a Northern army 
to the danger of having its communications and supplies cut 
off. 


The North — Maryland and Pennsylvania — was exposed to 
invasion down the valley of the Shenandoah, out of range of 
any Union army defending Washington. This be- 
jcame the famous avenue all through the war for the 
invasion of the North, down the valley to Harpers ghenan- 
Ferry, and then into Maryland. No Union com- ^oah vai- 

XwV • 

mander could afford to leave a Confederate army in 
the Shenandoah valley of Virginia and march toward Richmond. 
The Confederates could cross the Potomac, invade Maryland, 
and seize or cut the railroads leading to the capital. Reenforce- 
ments and supplies from the North would be cut off. The Union 
army would have to return to defend its capital and drive out 
the invaders. This is what happened when McClellan went to 
the James Peninsula to attack Richmond in 1862. 

457 . The Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. — The Confederate 
general, Joseph E. Johnston, with the army of the Shenandoah, 
was commanded to hold the Shenandoah valley as a source of 
supplies. He had about eleven thousand men. General Beaure- 
gard, the ‘‘hero of Fort Sumter,” was in command of the 
main body of the Confederates, twenty-two thousand men, at 
Manassas Creek, about thirty-five miles southwest of Washing- 
ton. General Winfield Scott, “ the hero of two wars,” — of 


390 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Lundy’s Lane and of Cerro Gordo, — now seventy-five years 
old, was in command of the Union forces. He sent General 
Patterson with about thirteen thousand men to watch Johnston 
in the Shenandoah, and to prevent him from joining his forces 

to those of General Beauregard. 

The North was impatient to 
end the war. On to Richmond ! 
On to Richmond!” was the cry.. 
Against Scott’s military judgment 
President Lincoln was induced to 
order an advance. Scott ordered 
General McDowell to attack the 
Confederates. With about thirty 
thousand men he marched out in 
fine array. On July 21, 1861, at 
“Bull Run” (or Manassas), was 
fought the first important battle 
of the war. It was a battle well 
planned but poorly fought. 

At first the battle went in favor 
of the Union army. The Union 
troops were turning the left flank 
of the Confederates, and the South- 
ern troops of Generals Evans, Bar- 
tow, and Bee were being pressed 
back. These brave generals again 
rallied their men, and Bee called 

stonewall o^t, “ See Jackson’s bri- 

Jackson. gade Standing like a 

stone wall 1 ” Stonewall stuck to 
Jackson throughout the war, and it is the name by which this 
great soldier will ever be known. Patterson had failed to detain 
Johnston in the Shenandoah, and fresh Southern troops came on 
The North- in the nick of time. The Union troops were 

utterly defeated and driven back upon Washington 
feated. in humiliating flight. The Union forces lost about 



“ Stonewall ” Jackson. 

Thomas Jonathan Jackson, famous 
Confederate general; born in Vir- 
ginia, Jan. 21, 1824; died. May lo, 
1863, from wounds received in the 
battle of Chancellorsville. Gradu- 
ate of West Point, 1846; served in 
the Mexican War ; followed his 
state in secession, 1861 ; won great 
distinction with Lee ; was notable 
for his “ hurricane raids ” in Virginia; 
was a student of the Bible, a man of 
prayer, a devout Christian. Regular 
prayer meetings were held at his head- 
quarters, at which thousands of sol- 
diers were often present. He is one of 
the greatest and most famous soldiers 
on either side during the Civil War. 



THE CIVIL WAR: THE FIRST YEAR 


391 


twenty-eight hundred men, the Confederates about nineteen 
hundred. 

The Confederate army did not venture to pursue its victory 
and capture Washington, as it might have done. So Bull Run 
had no material results, but the moral effect of the Confederate 
victory was considerable. The North was humiliated and de- 
pressed; the South was correspondingly elated. Some 
Southerners concluded that the war was as good as ^^^b^attie 
over. The Confederate cause revived in Missouri ^ 
and Kentucky ; the attitude of foreign powers became 
less friendly to the United States, and it became evident to the 
people of the North that the war would be no holiday campaign, 
but that a long and terrible struggle would be necessary to put 
down the rebellion. Congress voted to raise five hundred mil- 
lion dollars and five hundred thousand men for three years or 
for the war. Before the hundred-day men ” could be ham- 
mered into anything like seasoned soldiers, their terms of en- 
listment expired. 

458. General McClellan drills the Union Army. — General 
Scott now retired and General George B. McClellan was called 
from West Virginia to take command of the Union army. By 
the battle of Rich Mountain (July ii, 1861) and by skirmishes, 
McClellan had succeeded in driving the Confederates out of 
West Virginia. Great things were now expected of McClellan. 
It was his worthy work to organize the raw volunteers and make 
out of them an effective fighting machine. He devoted himself 
for nine months to drill and discipline, and then he had the 
magnificent army of the Potomac, of one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand men. For months the regular morning newspaper report 
of the army was, All is quiet on the Potomac.” To many this 
seemed like unnecessary inaction and delay. 

The Confederates were also strengthening their lines and 
drilling their men. Forts and fortifications were being erected 
around Richmond and Washington, and it was evident that hard 
fighting was ahead if either army was to take the other’s 
capital. 


392 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


459 . Disaster at Balls Bluff. — On October 21, 1861, a Union 
force of two thousand crossed the Potomac at Balls Bluff, near 
Harpers Ferry, and was cut off by the Confederates and utterly 
defeated. The defeat was due to mismanagement. The gallant 
Colonel Edwin D. Baker, the leader of the Union force, was 
killed. Baker was a friend of Lincoln, a popular United States 
senator from Oregon, and a brilliant orator. His defeat and 
death caused great sorrow and depression in the North. 

460 . The Navy and the Blockade. — In this period of military 
waiting and drill the navy was doing good service. The block- 
ade was being enforced. One of the first things President 
Lincoln did when the war began was to declare the South in a 
state of blockade, April 19, 1861. This was notice to foreign 
merchant ships not to enter Southern ports. They would 
do so at the risk of having their ships and cargoes seized and 
confiscated. Lincoln’s order was only a ‘‘ paper blockade.” 

To enforce this order, blockading squadrons were now being 
placed at the ports, as fast as ships and sailors could be obtained. 
As soon as the blockade could be enforced by the navy and 
foreign products were prevented from entering the South, the 
Confederate armies could not be supplied. All articles of neces- 
sity — like food, shoes, clothing, and medicine — rose to an ab- 
surd price. By 1864 flour was two hundred and fifty dollars per 
barrel and meal fifty dollars. Corn was twenty-five dollars per 
bushel. A turkey cost sixty dollars and a pair of boots cost two 
hundred and fifty dollars. This was also due to the great amount 
of paper money the Confederacy had issued. One dollar in gold 
was equal to twenty-two dollars in Confederate money. The 
Confederate troops were reduced to wretchedness, and at the 
final surrender Lee appealed to Grant for rations for his ragged 
soldiers. 

The South obtained “blockade runners,” swift vessels whose 

business it was to steal in and out of Southern ports 

ade run^-^' dark nights, carrying cotton out and military stores 

ners and [^ 1 . Some cotton got out in this wav, but very little 
privateers. ^ ® j j 

compared with the vast amount exported before the 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE FIRST YEAR 


393 


war began. A cotton famine ” occurred in Europe ; cotton 
factories in England were closed, men were thrown out of 
employment, and there was much suffering. The South had 
said, ‘‘ Cotton is king,” thinking that the factories in the North 
and in England could not do without cotton ; but when Euro- 
pean powers would not help to break the blockade, and the 
cotton of the South was piled up at home without a market, the 
king was dethroned. Wheat and corn had become king.” 

President Davis issued letters of marque and reprisal (§ i86), 
authorizing Confederate privateers to prey upon the peaceful 
commerce of the North. 

461 . The Monitor and the Merrimac, March 8, 1862. — Early 
in 1862 the blockade was threatened by the Merriniac^ an old 
sunken war ship that had been raised by the Confederates at 
Norfolk and made into an “ ironclad.” The MeiTimac steamed 
to Hampton Roads, sank the C 7 imberla 7 td, burned the Con- 
g 7 ^essy two United States ships stationed there, and it was clear 
that none of the wooden ships of the Union fleet could withstand 
this monster ironclad. Shot and shell produced no effect on 
the new sea warrior. Just in time the Monitor^ looking like a 
^Wankee cheese box on a raft,” hove in sight. This was a new 
Union ironclad, built by John Ericsson, commanded by Lieuten- 
ant Worden. On March 8, 1862, a sea duel followed between 
the two ironclads, and the Monitor drove the Merrimac to 
shelter, and saved the Union fleet and the blockade. This 
battle changed the conduct of naval warfare ; wooden ships had 
to give way to vessels of steel and iron. 

462 . Foreign Relations. The Trent Affair. — In May, 1861, 
Great Britain issued a “ proclamation of neutrality,” and recog- 
nized the Confederates as belligerents.” This did not mean 
that the South was recognized as an independent nation, but 
only that the rights and rules of war were to apply to her. Her 
soldiers, if captured, were not to be treated as traitors or insur- 
rectionists, but as prisoners of war, and her sailors should not 
be treated as pirates. The nation soon had to recognize the 
Confederacy as a war power. Lincoln’s blockade had done this 


394 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


in part, and the battle of Bull Run and other events soon made 
it a fact; but it was felt at the North that Great Britain had 
been hasty and unfriendly in doing this. 

In the fall of i86i President Davis sent two commissioners, 
Mason and Slidell, to England to obtain recognition of Southern 
independence. Mason and Slidell took passage from Havana 
on the Trejit^ a British steamer. The Trent was stopped and 
searched at sea by Captain Wilkes, of the United States ship 
San Jacinto^ and Mason and Slidell were taken off as prisoners. 
Great Britain felt that her rights as a neutral nation had been 
violated, and her flag insulted. She made a sharp demand for the 

Great Brit prisoners, sent troops to Canada, and 

ain seems we faced the danger of war with Great Britain. Con- 

unfriendly . 

gress and the country applauded the act of Captain 
Wilkes, but President Lincoln and Secretary Seward 
saw that his act violated our own principles concerning neutral 
rights which we had contended for in the War of 1812, and 
Mason and Slidell were released. A foreign war was avoided, 
and the Confederates were disappointed. Some bitterness lin- 
gered in the North toward Great Britain for the unfriendly tone 
of her demand. 

We must now turn to follow the war in the West. 


to the 
North. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


THE CIVIL WAR : THE SECOND YEAR 
The Campaign in the West 

463. The North had Four Objects in the West. — The objects 
of the campaign in the West were, (i) to hold the border states, 
Missouri and Kentucky, (2) to open the Mississippi River, (3) 
to cut the Confederacy in two by invasion, and (4) to relieve the 
Union men in East Tennessee from Confederate control. Then 
the Northern armies would come up from the South and cooper- 
ate with the Army of the Potomac about Richmond. It took 
four years to accomplish all this. 

464. Battles of Wilson’s Creek, August 10, 1861, and Pea 
Ridge, March 2, 1862. — In the summer of 1861 the Confeder- 
ates made a bold effort to obtain control of Missouri. Governor 
Jackson of that state was on the side of the Confederates. 
With ten thousand men under Price and McCulloch, they de- 
feated the Union troops under General Lyon in a hard-fought 
battle at Wilson’s Creek (August 10, 1861). Lyon was killed. 
The Union forces under General Curtis and General Franz 
Sigel drove the Confederates under Van Dorn southward into 
Arkansas, and on March 2, 1862, totally defeated the Confeder- 
ate army at Pea Ridge. This victory settled the fate of Missouri, 
though there was a large secession population in the state. 

465. Kentucky attempts to be Neutral, but fails. — Ken- 
tucky tried to be neutral, but neither side would respect its neu- 
trality. A Confederate force seized Columbus on the Mississippi, 
and a Union force occupied Paducah at the mouth of the Ten- 
nessee. Kentucky was obliged to declare for one side or the 
other, and on September 20, 1861, it declared for the Union, 

395 


396 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


when the legislature of the state called for troops to support the 
United States armies. 

466. Importance of the Rivers. — The struggle for control in 
the West was first a struggle for the control of the rivers, the 
Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee, the Mississippi. A suc- 
cessful invasion could not be made without controlling these 
rivers. An army going into an enemy’s country must keep open 
the way to receive its supplies. A railroad may be interrupted 
and torn up by the enemy. Transportation by water is not so 
liable to interruption. 

The national forces first sought to control the Cumberland 
and the Tennessee. This would give them Nashville, the base 
of supplies for the Confederate forces in Kentucky. The Con- 
federates would then have to retire from Kentucky and give up 
their forts on the Mississippi above Tennessee, because they 
would be unable to supply them with provisions. A fleet of 
river gunboats was fitted out by the Union side, to operate on 
these rivers, with Commodores Rodgers and Foote in command. 
This was ready by January, 1862. 

467. The First Confederate Line of Defense. — The Confed- 
erate line of defense reached from Columbus, on the Mississippi, 
to Cumberland Gap, in the Alleghany Mountains. General Polk 
held Columbus and near-by points with twelve thousand men ; 
General Zollicoffer held Cumberland Gap with six thousand 
men; and General Albert Sidney Johnston, the commander of 
all the Confederate forces in the West, had his headquarters at 
Bowling Green, Kentucky, with about fifteen thousand men. 
The Unionists thought he had fully forty thousand. The Con- 
federates built two strong forts in Tennessee, Forts Henry and 
Donelson, on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. 

468. The Union Forces in the West. — The Union forces 
were under General Halleck, at St. Louis, and General Buell, 
with headquarters at Louisville. The “ war governors ” in the 
West, Yates of Illinois, Morton of Indiana, and Dennison of 
Ohio, were full of zeal for the Union. They were active in 
raising men and supplies, and by January, 1862, Halleck and 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE SECOND YEAR 


397 


Buell could muster one hundred thousand men well armed and 
equipped. The Confederates had less than seventy-five thou- 
sand with which to hold Kentucky and Tennessee. The Fed- 
erals also had the river fleet. 



Military Situation in the West, 1862. 


469 . Battle of Mill Springs, January 19, 1862. — The Con- 
federates under General Zollicoffer took the offensive and 
attacked General George H. Thomas at Mill Springs (January 
19, 1862). They were totally defeated, losing guns, prisoners, 
and stores. Zollicoffer was killed and his forces retired to 

Tennessee. This was a small battle, with only about four 

thousand men on each side, but the result encouraged the 
Union arms everywhere. General Thomas proved to be one of 
the greatest generals of the war. 


398 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


470. Forts Henry and Donelson. — General Grant, with the 
troops, and Commodore Foote, with the gunboats, next attacked 
Fort Henry on the Tennessee. The gunboats easily reduced 
the fort, the Confederate forces retiring to Fort Donelson, 
twelve miles east on the Cumberland. A week later, after 
the gunboats had come around into the Cumberland, the 
Union forces were ready for a combined attack on Donelson. 
But the fleet was repulsed by the guns of the fort, and Grant 
thought that he would have to settle down for a siege. How- 
ever, Floyd, Pillow, and Buckner, the Confederate commanders, 
decided to try to cut their way out and open the road to Nash- 
ville. Through Grant’s generalship, and after desperate fighting, 
they were defeated. Floyd and Pillow turned the command 
over to Buckner and fled. Buckner asked Grant for terms of 
surrender. No terms except unconditional surrender; I pro- 
pose to move immediately upon your works,” replied Grant. - 
Buckner was forced to surrender. With Fort Donelson he gave 
up twelve thousand men, forty guns, and many military stores. 

471. The Victory of Fort Donelson, a Turning Point in the 
War. — Donelson was one of the turning points of the war. 
It was the first great Union victory, and the North was jubilant. 
The Southwest was thrown into a panic of alarm. Their whole 
system of defense was broken up. The Confederates had to 
abandon Bowling Green and Columbus, and to evacuate Nash- 
ville. All of Kentucky and most of Tennessee came under 
Federal control. Chattanooga, the key of East Tennessee, lay 
open to invasion on one side, and Vicksburg, the only strong 
point on the lower Mississippi, lay unprotected on the other. 
Of the Confederate army of the West, part had been captured, 
part was retreating before the army of Buell, and part was shut 
up in fortified places on the upper Mississippi, their capture 
being only a question of time, now that their supplies were soon 
to be cut off. The victory resulted in a Union advance of over 
two hundred miles into the territory of the enemy, and it set at 
rest all doubt about the position of Kentucky in the conflict. 
Secretary Chase said, The underpinning of the Confederacy 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE SECOND YEAR 


399 


seems to be knocked from under it.” ‘‘ Unconditional Sur- 
render ” Grant was the hero of the hour. He deserved the. 
praise he received, and was promoted by Lincoln. 

472. The Confederates rally at Corinth, Mississippi. — The 
Confederates soon recovered from their defeat and again rallied 
their forces. Corinth, Mississippi, now became their center and 
base of operations. From here they could send supplies by 
rail to Chattanooga eastward, and to New Madrid and Island 
No. lo northward, where the Confederates had strong works 
that were being attacked and besieged by the Union forces 
under General Pope. To open 
the Mississippi it was necessary 
for the Unionists to capture these 

map, p. 397). 

Battle of Shiloh, or 
Pittsburg Landing, April 6, 7, 

1862. — Soon the Confederates 
had forty thousand men at Cor- 
inth under Johnston, Beauregard, 
and Bragg. By April, Grant had 
advanced to Pittsburg Landing 
with the Army of the Tennessee, 
forty-five thousand strong. Buell 
had occupied Nashville with the 
Army of the Cumberland, thirty- 
seven thousand strong, and he 
was now marching across the 
country from Nashville to Pitts- 
burg Landing to join Grant. With 
their combined forces Grant and 
Buell would advance on Corinth 
and overwhelm the Confederates. 

Johnston decided to take the ag- 
gressive, to attack and crush 
Grant’s army before Buell could arrive. Grant’s army was in 
danger, but the Union commanders did not seem to be aware of 


places (see 

473. The 



Albert Sidney Johnston. 

Confederate general ; born in Ken- 
tucky, Feb. 3, 1803; killed at Shiloh, 
April 6, 1862. He served in the war 
for Texan independence and in the 
Mexican War. He was one of the 
great soldiers of the Civil War. A 
monument is erected to his honor in 
New Orleans, bearing the inscription, 
“A man tried in many high offices 
and critical enterprises and found 
faithful in all. No country ever 
had a truer son, no cause a nobler 
champion, no people a bolder 
defender than the dead soldier.” 



400 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


it. They had erected no fortifications nor provided a means of 
retreat. After a rapid march of twenty miles from Corinth, 
Johnston, on Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, struck the Union 
army at Shiloh, where was fought one of the bloodiest and most 
famous battles of the war. On the first day the Union forces 
were defeated and driven back. The “Hornets’ Nest” on the 
field of Shiloh was the scene of terrific fighting. On the night 
of that bloody Sunday, Union reenforcements arrived under 
Buell and on the second day of battle the Confederates were 
outnumbered. The Unionists recovered their lost ground, and 
the Confederates were driven from the field, with the loss of ten 
thousand men and their noble commander. General Albert Sid- 
ney Johnston. The Union army lost thirteen thousand. Gen- 
eral Grant was criticised for not pursuing and destroying the 
Confederate army, but he said he had not the heart to urge on 
his exhausted troops. 

The Confederates were now soon forced out of Corinth (May 
30), and on the same day that they were defeated at Shiloh 
General Pope compelled the surrender of Island No. 10. Fort 
Pillow was soon captured by the Federals (June 4), and the 
Union gunboats could then advance down the Mississippi to 
Memphis. Admiral Davis defeated the Confederate fleet in 
front of that city, and on June 6 the P'ederal forces occupied 
Memphis. 

474 . Capture of New Orleans, April 24, 1862. — By the middle 
of June, 1862, Vicksburg and Port Hudson, two hundred miles 
below, were the only points bn the Mississippi held by the 
Confederates. New Orleans was captured by the Federal 
forces (April 24, 1862) after Admiral Farragutmade his famous 
run past the forts, St. Philip and Jackson, below the city. 
For six days Farragut’s fleet had bombarded the forts without 
effect, but after the Union admiral made his perilous passage 
of the forts and destroyed the Confederate gunboats the city 
was doomed. New Orleans passed into the control of a 
Federal military force of fifteen thousand men commanded by 
General Benjamin F. Butler. 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE SECOND YEAR 


401 


475. Bragg invades Kentucky. Battles of Perryville and of 
Murfreesboro. — Bragg succeeded Beauregard as Confederate 
commander in the West. He moved his army eastward past 
Buell’s lines toward Chattanooga, and then started northward on 
a bold invasion of Kentucky, marching directly toward Louis- 
ville. Buell hastened after him, and reached Louisville first. 
Bragg foraged for supplies and booty for a month, and then 
retired southward. Buell pursued with reenforcements, and at 
Perryville, Kentucky, an indecisive battle was fought (October 
8, 1862). General Rosecrans now succeeded Buell in command 
of the Union forces. Bragg left his booty at Chattanooga 
and marched toward Nashville, fortifying Murfreesboro. Here 
he was attacked by Rosecrans in one of the hardest-fought 
battles of the war. This three days’ battle at Murfreesboro, or 
Stone River (Dec. 31, 1862; Jan. i, 2, 1863), was not very de- 
cisive. The Union forces lost about fourteen thousand, the 
Confederates about eleven thousand, and while the Confed- 
erates were forced from the field the Federals were unable to 
pursue. 

Meanwhile Grant and Sherman were with the army of the 
Tennessee at Corinth. They repulsed Confederate attacks by 
Price and Van Dorn in battles at Corinth and luka, but they 
failed in their efforts to take Vicksburg at this time. 

The Peninsular Campaign 

476. McClellan decides to attack Richmond from the South. — 

Let us now return to McClellan and the grand army of the 
Potomac in the East. McClellan had now a fine army of two 
hundred thousand men. The Confederates had less than one 
hundred thousand under General Joseph E. Johnston. The 
Northern people were impatient for action. They believed the 

quiet on the Potomac ” should give place to fighting. 

It was March, 1862, before McClellan was ready to move. 
Instead of advancing directly from the north, a route by which 
he would have several rivers to cross, McClellan decided to 


402 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


transport his troops by boat, land at Fortress Monroe, take 
Yorktown, and march on Richmond from the southeast, up the 
peninsula between the York and James rivers. Therefore, this 
is called the Peninsular Campaign.” Lincoln and Stanton, 



Secretary of War, required McClellan to leave a force of seventy- 
five thousand men under Banks, Fremont, and McDowell to 
protect Washington and to guard against a Confederate inva- 
sion down the Shenandoah. 

When McClellan began his advance toward Richmond, after 
a month’s siege at Yorktown, he found his way blocked by 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE SECOND YEAR 


403 


Confederate forces behind intrenchments and fortifications. 
Johnston had transferred his army from Manassas and was 
ready to meet McClellan. McClellan was expecting McDowell 
to come down in the rear of the Confederates from the north, 
but, as we shall see, he was to be disappointed in this ex- 
pectation. By the last of May, McClellan came within ten 
miles of Richmond, and at Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines, _ , 
a severe battle was fought. Johnston was wounded Fair Oaks, 
and his forces repulsed. The advanced guard of the 
Union forces now came within sight of the spires of Rich- 
mond, only three miles away. Military critics say if McClellan 
had moved with energy and promptness he could have entered 
Richmond on June i, but he settled down to recuperate and 
await reenforcements. General Robert E. Lee now succeeded 
the wounded Johnston in command of the Confederate forces. 
McClellan gave him time to organize and fortify. 

477. Stonewall’’ Jackson’s Raids, 1862. — Meanwhile ‘'Stone- 
wall ” Jackson had been making some of his terrible raids. Lee’s 
plan was to make Lincoln fear a counter invasion, prevent Mc- 
Dowell from joining McClellan, and if the Washington authorities 
did not recall McClellan, Jackson’s forces should quickly join 
Lee’s, and the two combined would destroy or capture McClel- 
lan’s army. It was a brilliant plan and was brilliantly executed. 
Jackson defeated Banks and Fremont and Shields, in rapid suc- 
cession, by quick marches. In thirty-five days Jackson marcTied 
two hundred and forty-five miles, won three battles, broke up 
three separate Union forces, overawed Washington, kept Mc- 
Dowell’s forty thousand men from joining McClellan, and brought 
his forces up to cooperate with Lee in defense of Richmond. 

478. The ‘‘Seven Days’ Battle.” — Lee was now ready to 
attack McClellan, and the “ Seven Days’ Battle” followed (June 
26-July I, 1862). There was severe fighting every day. The 
hard battle of Malvern Hill (July i) ended the series. The Con- 
federates were defeated in this battle, but McClellan’s McClellan 
Peninsular Campaign had failed, and in August he failed, 
was recalled to Washington. In the seven days’ fighting Me- 


404 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Clellan had lost about sixteen thousand men, the Confederates 
about twenty thousand. 

479. Pope and the Second Battle of Bull Run. — Halleck was 
called from the West to take command of all the Union forces. 
A new army of forty thousand men, called the army of Virginia, 

was now organized. General John Pope was placed in command. 

• 

The Confederates called him “ Proclamation Pope,” because of 
the proclamations he kept issuing, telling of the great things he 
was going to do. Lee and Jackson raided his supplies, and in 
the Second Battle of Bull Run (August 29, 1862) inflicted 
on his army a decisive defeat and drove his forces back to the 
defenses of Washington. Here he was joined by McClellan 
and the army of the Potomac. 

480. The Battle of Antietam. — Elated by success, the Con- 
federates now hoped to carry the war into the North. Lee 
crossed the Potomac into Maryland. McClellan pursued, and 
at Sharpsburg, on Antietam Creek, September 17, 1862, oc- 
curred a great battle. McClellan had about forty-six thousand 
men engaged, Lee only thirty-one thousand. More men were 
killed and wounded on that 17th of September than on any 
other single day in the whole war.” The Confederates lost 
nine thousand, the Unionists twelve thousand. It was a drawn 
battle, but it had the effect of a Union victory, for Lee retired 
across the Potomac, and his invasion of Maryland failed. 

481. The Battle of Fredericksburg. — McClellan was now 
superseded in command by General A. E. Burnside. Burnside 
rashly led his army against impregnable fortifications at Fred- 
ericksburg, and in a single battle (December 13, 1862) lost 
thirteen thousand men, while the Confederates lost onlv four 
thousand. This horrible slaughter led to Burnside’s dismissal, 
and Fighting Joe ” Hooker was appointed to command the 
army of the Potomac. 

Emancipation 

482. Politics and Slavery. — We have seen what the President 
and Congress regarded as the object of the war (§ 449). It 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE SECOND YEAR 


405 


was to save the Union, not to abolish slavery. What Lincoln 
did about slavery, he did for the purpose of saving the Union. 
He was pulled two ways. Radical antislavery men in the 
North, knowing that slavery was the cause of the 
war, believed it would never be brought to a success- Lincoln 
fill end until slavery was abolished. They were con- oen^emfs^ 
stantly urging Lincoln to direct the war against an^Hunter 
slavery. General Fremont in Missouri, and General who had 

. . . declared 

Hunter in the Southeast, declared the slaves in their negroes 
departments free, but Lincoln overruled them. This 
displeased the antislavery men. But Lincoln knew there were 
conservative Union men, especially in the border states, who 
would withdraw their support from the war if it were shown 
to be a war for abolition. 

483. What shall be done with Escaping Slaves? — In the 

very beginning of the war the problem arose as to what the 
Union generals should do with slaves coming within their lines. 
General Halleck, General McClellan, and several others believed 
in returning them to their masters ; but this would be merely to 
increase the fighting strength of the enemy, and allow the slaves 
to be used to destroy the Union. In May, 1861, Gen- 
eral Benjamin F. Butler declared that the slaves were Butier^de- 
“ contraband of war’’; that is, property good for war them^“ con- 
purposes, and which is, therefore, subject to capture traband of 
and confiscation by the enemy. Butler kept the 
negroes that came to his camp, and set them to work for the 
Union cause. Negroes were thereafter known as ‘‘contrabands.” 
The government finally approved this policy. 

484. Compensated Emancipation. — In the spring of 1862, 
Lincoln proposed the plan of compensated emancipation, to 
bring about gradual abolition in the border states. He pro- 
posed that the United States should pay the masters for 
their slaves if these states would assent to the plan. If 
this would shorten the war, as Lincoln thought, it would be 
economy, because a few months’ war expenses would pay for 
all the slaves. Congress indorsed the plan, but the border 


4o6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


states resented it, and refused to cooperate, and the plan failed. 
Lincoln said they would have been wiser to accept the proposal, 
for the value of ‘‘ two-legged property ” was becoming very 
uncertain. 

485. The First Confiscation Act, August 3, 1861. — On August 
3, 1861, Congress passed a confiscation act. This authorized 
the President to seize and confiscate any property used in aid of 
the rebellion, and if any master allowed his slaves to be used in 
any service hostile to the United States the slaves were to be set 
free. 

486. Slavery abolished in the District of Columbia and pro- 
hibited in the Territories. — In April, 1862, Congress abolished 
slavery in the District of Columbia, and on June 19, 1862, an act 
was passed prohibiting slavery in all the territories of the United 
States. Thus the primary principle of the Republican party 
was finally carried out, in spite of the Dred Scott decision. 
On July 17, 1862, a second confiscation act was passed, pronounc- 
ing the death penalty against ‘‘traitors,” and providing for seiz- 
ing the property and freeing the slaves of all who were “ aiding 
or abetting ” the rebellion. The fearful loss of life and the 
bloodshed and suffering of the war had aroused a very bitter 
feeling, and many Northern men said the leaders of the rebel- 
lion should be hanged and the property and slaves of the South 
taken away. 

487. Lincoln resolves on Emancipation. — The time had now 
come for Lincoln to “ hit slavery hard.” He had come to believe 
that the destruction of slavery was necessary to the restoration 
of the Union. He determined to destroy it. He made known 
his purpose to the Cabinet in July, 1862. Secretary Seward 
persuaded him to wait for a Union victory. Lincoln said he 
had promised God that as soon as victory came to the Union 
arms he would free the slaves. So after the victory of Antie- 
tam, and when Lee had been forced back into Virginia, Lincoln 
issued, on September 22, 1862, his preliminary proclamation, 
declaring that on January i, 1863, “all persons held as slaves 
in any state the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against 


CIVIL WAR: THE • SECOND YEAR 


407 


the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever, 
free.” 

The rebellious states paid no attention to this proclamation, 
and, accordingly, on January i, 1863, the formal 
Emancipation Proclamation was issued, as a war pation Proc- 
power, for the suppression of the rebellion. It freed January i, 
only the slaves of the Confederate states where the 
Union armies could enforce it. The border states freed their 
own slaves (Missouri, in 1863 ; Maryland, in 1864), or their slaves 
were freed by the thirteenth amendment. 

The Emancipation Proclamation is an historic document. 
It made Lincoln immortal. By it he gave slavery a deadly 
wound. After he announced this policy of military emancipa- 
tion, it was known to all the world that every step of the Union 
arms toward victory meant the liberty of the slave. The Union 
armies were now fighting for both liberty and union,” and thou- 
sands of the slaves were soon called to arms to help save the 
Union and to fight for their own freedom. 

488 . Party Opposition to the War in the North. — All these 
political events and this antislavery policy aroused political 
opposition in the North. There were “War Democrats,” who 
cooperated with the Republicans in supporting Lincoln’s admin- 
istration, but many Democrats who stood for the Union were 
offended at many things that had occurred. They said the war 
was being turned from a war for the Union into a war for the 
“ nigger.” They insisted that the war must be conducted with- 
out violating the Constitution or the rights of the states, or inter- 
fering in any way with slavery. They wanted “ the Constitution 
as it is and the Union as it was ” ; they did not like confiscation 
or emancipation. They especially disliked the vast war power 
which the President had been exercising. Lincoln ^ 

^ ^ Presidenrs 

had suspended the writ of habeas corpus^ made arbi- great “ war 

^ . . 1 • . .1 -1 power.’’ 

trary arrests, imprisoned citizens without trial, sup- 
pressed newspapers, and arrested political leaders and writers 
who criticised the administration. All this seemed like danger- 
ous, one-man power. 


4o8 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


489 . Democrats gain in Election of 1862. — The result of all 
. this opposition was that in the fall elections of 1862, many states 
that had voted for Lincoln in i860 went against his administra- 
tion. The Democrats carried Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsyl- 
vania, and elected Horatio Seymour governor of New York. 
The year 1862 closed with Mr. Lincoln’s administration defeated- 
in politics, while the Confederate armies were triumphant in the 
East and were holding their own in the West. Foreign powers 
were thinking of intervening, of breaking the blockade, and of 
recognizing the independence of the Southern Confederacy. It 
seemed a dark hour for the Union. 


CHAPTER XXXV 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 
The War in the East Again 

490. Battle of Chancellorsville. Death of '‘Stonewall” Jack- 
son. — After " Eighting Joe” Hooker received command of the 
army of the Potomac, several months were spent in reorganiz- 
ing and recruiting. By May, 1863, he had a fine army of one 
hundred and twenty-five thousand men. He was attacked and 
defeated in the great battle of Chancellorsville (May 2-3, 1863). 
Hooker lost seventeen thousand ' men. The Confederate loss 
was less, but they lost their great leader. Stonewall Jackson, 
who was accidentally shot by his own men. Lee said he felt 
as if he had lost his right arm in losing Jackson. 

491. Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 - 3 , 1863 . — Lee now pre- 
pared for a second invasion of the North. With a fine army 
of seventy thousand men, enthusiastic and elated by victory, 
he passed around Hooker’s army (which had begun to fall back 
to defend Washington), went down the Shenandoah, and 
through Maryland into Pennsylvania. The North was alarmed. 
The militia were called to arms. Hooker’s army, one hundred 
thousand strong, pursued Lee to head him off, if possible, from 
Harrisburg and Philadelphia. At this juncture Hooker was 
removed at his own request and General George G. Meade 
placed in command. The two great armies met on the famous 
field of Gettysburg, and after a fearful battle of three days 
(July 1-3, 1863) Lee’s army was defeated and forced to retreat 
southward. 

Gettysburg is the greatest and most famous battle of the 
war. It was the only battle fought on Northern soil. It was 
the scene of Pickett’s celebrated charge, one of the most superb 

409 


410 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


in the history of war. With fifteen thousand men, the flower 
of the Southern army, Pickett charged over an open plain up 
Cemetery Ridge, defended by the troops of General Hancock. 
The ranks of Pickett’s men were plowed by shot and shell, 
but they marched on, some of them up to the very ramparts 
behind which Hancock’s men were standing. Here men fought 
hand to hand for the possession of the field. The Union posi- 
tion was too strong, and the Confederates were repulsed. 



Soldiers’ Monument at Gettysbuko. 


Soldiers’ Monument in the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, dedicated Nov. 19, 
1863. Scene of Lincoln’s famous Address. Edward Everett was the noted 
orator chosen to speak at the dedication of the monument. Lincoln was 
expected “ to show himself and to say a few words.” When Lincoln congratu- 
lated Everett, the orator replied, “ Ah, Mr. President, how gladly would I 
exchange all my hundred pages to have been the author of your twenty lines ! ” 

The best blood of America, of nearly fifty thousand brave 
men, reddened the field of Gettysburg. Twenty-three thousand 
brave Boys in Blue ” there laid down their lives for their 
country, and twenty thousand brave Boys in Gray ” died for 
the cause they thought was right. The battlefield of Gettys- 
burg is now a national cemetery. Many monuments commem- 





THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 41 1 


orate the valor and patriotism shown on that great field of 
war. 

492. Lincoln’s Speech at Gettysburg. — On November 19, 
1863, a soldiers’ monument was dedicated at Gettysburg by the 
nation, and President Lincoln made an immortal speech, a 
speech that Americans should ever remember : — 

^‘Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth 
upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and 
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 
nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long 
endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We 
have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting 
place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might 
live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 
But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, 
we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, 
who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to 
add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, 
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It 
is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished 
work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. 
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remain- 
ing before us, that from these honored dead we take increased 
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure 
of devotion ; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 
have died in vain ; that this nation, under God, shall have a new 
birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the 
people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

Gettysburg marked the high tide of the Confederacy. 
Nearly two more years of war were required before 
the South laid down its arms, but the Confederates of^^he 
were never again so strong and dangerous as they 
were on that memorable July 3, 1863. 

493. The Fall of Vicksburg. — On the day that Gettysburg 
was won, General Grant received from General Pemberton the 


412 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


surrender of Vicksburg. Grant and Sherman had been fight- 
ing and maneuvering for six months to take this stronghold. 
Siege and starvation for six weeks had finally forced the Con- 
federates to surrender. Pemberton surrendered thirty thou- 
sand prisoners of war, and (after Port Hudson surrendered on 
July 9) the Mississippi was open its entire length. As Lincoln 
said, “The Father of Waters flowed unvexed to the sea.” The 

Supplies from Louisiana, Arkan- 
sas, and Texas for the Southern 
armies could be cut off, and we 
know now that from that time the 
Confederacy was doomed. Grant 
was acknowledged as the foremost 
Union general. 

494. Battle of Chickamauga. — 

Let us return to the armies in 
Tennessee. After the battle of 
Murfreesboro (§ 475) Bragg 

retired before Rosecrans into 
Chattanooga. In the summer of 
1863 he was forced to evacuate 
that place. He retired about 
twelve miles south into Georgia, 
and Rosecrans supposed he was 
retreating to Atlanta. But Bragg 
had received reenforcements from 
Lee, and he was ready for a fight. 
On Chickamauga Creek (Septem- 
ber 19-20) occurred one of the 
most desperate battles of the 
war. Rosecrans’s right wing was shattered, his army defeated, 
and he was forced back into Chattanooga. The Union army 
lost seventeen thousand men, the Confederates about the same 
number. The center of the Union line under General George 
H. Thomas stubbornly held its ground and saved the army 
from disaster, and because of this “ Old Pap Thomas,” as the 


Confederacy was cut in two. 



General Geor(;e Henry Thomas. 


Born in Virginia, July 31, 1816 ; died 
in San Francisco, March 28, 1870. 
Graduated at West Point in 1840, in 
the class with General Sherman ; 
served in the Mexican War; in 1861 
espoused the cause of the Union 
against his state ; won the title, 
“The Rock of Chickamauga,” and 
at Nashville, 1864, his victory over 
Hood was the most decisive gained 
by either side during the war. 



THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 


413 


soldiers called him, won the title of ‘‘ The Rock of Chicka- 
mauga.” 

495. Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. — Rosecrans 
was now besieged in Chattanooga. His supplies were almost 
cut off. Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge were held 
by the Confederates. A Union force 'under General Burnside 
at Knoxville was besieged by General Longstreet. There was 
no road by which the Union army could retreat, and only one 
single ‘‘cracker trail,” as the road was called, was open for sup- 
plies to the army in Chattanooga. It seemed for a time as if 
Rosecrans would be compelled to surrender his whole army. 

Hooker, from the army of the Potomac, and Grant and 
Sherman, from the siege of Vicksburg, came to the rescue. 
On November 24, 1863, Hooker stormed Lookout Mountain; 
and in the “ battle above the clouds,” so high up the mountain 
side that his troops were hidden by fog and mist from the sol- 
diers in the valley below, he carried the Confederate works by 
assault. At the same time Sherman and Thomas carried the 
Confederate defenses of Missionary Ridge. Communication 
was opened with Chattanooga, and Bragg retreated southward 
to Dalton; Georgia. Sherman relieved Burnside in Knoxville, 
and Longstreet retreated east to rejoin Lee’s army. 

496. Grant faces Lee around Richmond. — These Union vic- 
tories closed the fighting for a season. They raised General 
Grant into still greater favor, and in March, 1864, he was called 
to Washington and was made commander-in-chief of all the 
armies of the United States. 

After Gettysburg, the Army of the Potomac followed Lee on 
his retreat to Virginia, and for almost a year the armies faced 
one another in position on the banks of the Rappahannock and 
the Rapidan. When Grant came to confront Lee in Virginia 
in the spring of 1864, the final year’s struggle of the war began. 
General Sherman was in command of the Union forces in the 
West, facing General Joseph E. Johnston (who had succeeded 
Bragg) around Dalton and Atlanta. Grant and Sherman 
agreed to press the enemy at the same time, to give the 


414 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


armies in front of them constantly enough to do so that neither 
could send aid to the other. 

497. The Wilderness and Spottsylvania. — Grant’s army fac- 

ing Lee numbered one hundred and fifty thousand men. Gen- 
eral Butler was coming up the James toward Richmond with 
thirty thousand more. Lee had only seventy-five thousand 
men to meet these forces. In May, Grant’s army entered the 
Wilderness, the region between the Rapidan and the James. 
Here (from May 5 to i 8 ) there were several days of terrible 
fighting in the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania. 
Grant’s purpose was to get between Lee’s army and Richmond. 
By skillful generalship Lee prevented this. Every time Grant 
attempted to take his army around to attack one side of Lee’s, 
the Confederate commander fell back to a new line of defense. 
By these flanking movements Grant pressed Lee back to the 
„ , , defenses of Richmond, and he then resolved to resort 

Cold Har- again to a direct attack in front. On June 4 , 1864 , 

at Cold Harbor, the very center of Lee’s fortifications. 
Grant made a last desperate effort to win the Confederate posi- 
tion by assault. Within twenty minutes the Union army was 
repulsed with terrible slaughter, losing eight thousand men. 

This campaign from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor witnessed 
the bloodiest fighting of the war. After the second day’s fight- 
Grant Wilderness Grant sent President Lincoln 

hammers his famous telegram, I propose to fight it out on this 

away in 

the Wilder- line if it takes all summer.” He meant that he would 

hammer and batter Lee’s lines until he broke through 
by sheer fighting force and weight of numbers. The ‘‘ hammer- 
ing process ” meant assaulting and fighting in the open. Lee 
was using fortifications and more military strategy. It was 
costing Grant two or three men to Lee’s one. Within less tHan 
six weeks Grant had lost nearly forty thousand men ; Lee not 
half so many. 

498. Early’s Raid in the Shenandoah. — Lee now tried again 
to relieve Richmond by threatening Washington. He sent 
General Jubal Early with a force of twenty thousand men to 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 415 


menace the Federal capital, hoping Grant would withdraw a 
part of his army from Richmond for the defense of Washington. 
Early went down the Shenandoah, defeated a Federal force at 
Monocacy River under General Lew Wallace (July 9), and 
pushed on within a few miles of Washington. The people in 
Washington were again frightened, but forces from Grant’s 
army came up in time to prevent Early’s capturing the city. 
Early sent a raid into Pennsyl- 
vania and burned Chambersburg 
in retaliation, as he said, for Gen- 
eral Hunter’s destruction of pri- 
vate property in the Shenandoah 
valley. 

Washington and the North were 
uneasy while Confederate forces 
were in the Shenan- 

Sheridan 

doah valley. Grant now defeats 
ordered Sheridan to ^ys^^waste 

drive Early out, and to andoah 
lay waste the Shenan- valley. 

doah valley, — to destroy what 
he could not consume.” He 
wanted to prevent the valley from 
being used for future raids and 
to destroy it as a granary of sup- 
plies for the Confederate armies. 

Sheridan defeated Early near 
Winchester (on Opequon Creek, 

September 19, 1864) and again at 
Fisher’s Creek two days later. 

The Confederates retreated up the valley, and Sheridan made a 
‘‘ barren waste ” of the country for miles around. He utterly 
destroyed grain, forage, barns, agricultural tools, and drove off 
all the stock. Two thousand barns and seventy mills filled with 
grain were thus destroyed. It was said that a crow flying over 
the valley would be obliged to carry his own dinner. 



Philip Henry Sheridan, 

A famous Union general of the Civil 
War. Born in Albany, New York, 
March 6, 1831; died Aug. 5, 1888. 
Graduated at West Point, 1853; 
fought at Perryville, Stone River, 
Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the 
Wilderness, and Cold Harbor ; won 
renown in the Shenandoah campaign 
against General Early, 1864; was 
Grant’s chief lieutenant in bringing 
about the final surrender of Lee 
at Appomattox, April, 1865. His 
“ Memoirs ” tell his war history. 


4i6 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Early was soon out of supplies and had to fight for his ra- 
tions. He planned to surprise the Union army. At Cedar 

Battle of Creek (October 19, 1864), by an unexpected onset, his 
Cedar men hurled the Union troops back in confused retreat, 

Creek. . ^ . 

Sheridan’s almost in a Stampede. Sheridan was absent in Win- 
^ Chester, twenty miles away. By his famous ride he 

came dashing to the scene of battle just in time to reform and 
encourage the troops and save the day. Come on, boys, we 
are all right,” he shouted, as he galloped along the line wav- 
ing his hat. ‘‘We’ll whip them yet and sleep in our old quar- 
ters to-night.” Sheridan stemmed the tide, turned defeat into 
victory, and with the battle of Cedar Creek ended forever the 
Confederate raids in the Shenandoah valley. 

With Washington safe, the North relieved from all fear of 
further invasion, and Grant tightening the coils around Lee at 
Petersburg and Richmond, we leave the forces in the East near 
the close of 1864. 


Politics: Election of 1864 

499. Opposition to the War. — In the summer of 1864, when 
Grant seemed unable to defeat Lee and capture Richmond, and 
before Sherman had captured Atlanta, opposition to the war in 
the North seemed stronger than ever. A great debt was piling 
up, taxation was becoming heavy. United States stocks were 
selling at forty cents on the dollar, drafting was about to be 
renewed, thousands of lives were being sacrificed, the Confederate 
armies were not defeated, and the people were unable to see the 
end. Horace Greeley wrote to President Lincoln that the whole 
American people were anxious for peace, — “ peace on almost 
any terms.” “Our bleeding, bankrupt, almost dying country 
longs for peace ; shudders at the prospect of fresh conscrip- 
tions, of further wholesale devastations, and of new rivers of 
human blood.” 

500. Lincoln was blamed for continuing the War. — Lincoln 
was ready for peace at any time that the South would lay down 







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THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 417 


its arms, acknowledge the Union, and abandon slavery. But 
many people thought President Lincoln ought to acknowledge 
the authority of the Confederacy by negotiating with its agents, 
or have an armistice for a year and a national convention of all 
the states to adjust matters and to make some compromise 
arrangement with the leaders of the rebellion. Lincoln thought 
no convention or negotiation would be safe or do any good till 
the authority of the national government was first recognized 
by all, and that the South would never consent to restore the 
Union until their armies were beaten in the field. 

501. The Draft was opposed. — In 1863 the government had to 
resort to the draft to fill up the Union armies (Conscription Bill, 
March 3, 1863). All able-bodied men between the ages of 
eighteen and forty-five were liable to be drafted and forced to 
serve in the army or pay for a substitute. The President called 
for three hundred thousand troops in May, and for three hundred 
thousand more in October, 1863. These new levies and the draft 
were very unpopular. In many places the draft officers were 
resisted. In New York City, in July, 1863, a great mob controlled 
the city for several days, preventing the draft, burning houses, 
and killing negroes. Federal troops were required to put down 
the mob. 

502. Arrest of Vallandigham. — The Peace Democrats ” 
denounced the war in Congress and on the stump. One of their 
leaders in Ohio, Clement L. Vallandigham, was arrested for 
making a bitter speech against Lincoln and military law in the 
North. Vallandigham was condemned to imprisonment by a 
court martial, but Lincoln changed the punishment and sent 
him across the lines to his friends in the Confederacy. A secret 
society, known as The Knights of the Golden 
Circle,” was organized in opposition to the war. It h^d^s^f^op- 
was specially strong in Ohio and Indiana. Its mem- 
berswere known as ‘‘Copperheads,” or “ Butternuts,” 

and they generally sympathized with the South. 

503. General McClellan nominated for President — The Demo- 
cratic party was controlled by the men who were opposed to 


4i8 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


continuing the war. They blamed Lincoln for the draft, for 
violating the Constitution, for removing McClellan, for not bring- 
ing the war to an end, for imprisoning men without trial, for inter- 
fering with military force in elections, for refusing to exchange 
prisoners, for setting the slaves free, and for enlisting negro 
soldiers. They said they would meet the South with negotiation 
instead of subjugation. In a national convention they declared 
that the “war was a failure as a means of restoring the Union,” 
and they nominated George B. McClellan for President and 
G-eorge H. Pendleton of Ohio for Vice President. 

504. Lincoln renominated. — The “ Union-National ” party, 
as the Republicans called themselves that year, renominated 
Lincoln for President and Andrew Johnson of Tennessee for 
Vice President. They demanded the suppression of the rebel- 
lion by a vigorous prosecution of the war. The party was not 
at first united on Lincoln. Many radical antislavery men were 
still displeased with him. They thought he was too slow ; or 
they were afraid he would compromise and restore the Union 
on terms that were too easy and without making sure of abolish- 
ing slavery. They wanted the party to nominate Chase instead. 
Failing to secure this, they then nominated a ticket (Fremont 
and Cochrane) in opposition to Lincoln, but these candidates 
withdrew before the election. 

505. Lincoln reelected. — On account of the imprisonment of 
citizens in the North without trial, and because of the violation 
of the freedom of speech and of the press, many loyal Union 
men voted for McClellan, but Lincoln was triumphantly re- 
elected. McClellan carried only three states, — New Jersey, 
Delaware, and Kentucky. Lincoln carried all the rest of the 
Northern states, and had two hundred and twelve electoral 
votes to McClellan’s forty-two. The Confederate states, of 
course, took no part in this election. 

The election meant that the war should go on until the South 
submitted. It left the South without hope of further success, 
for as soon as Lincoln was reelected the war was pushed with 
more energy than ever by the national forces. 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 


419 


several assaults and severe battles, 
at Resaca (May I4“i5, 1864), at 
Dallas (May 25-28), at Kenesaw 
Mountain (June 27). Sherman 
generally lost much more heavily 
than Johnston in these engage- 
ments. At Kenesaw he lost five 


to Johnston’s one. This repulse 
showed Sherman how useless it 
was to hurl his soldiers against 
intrenched lines of musketry. He 
tried to turn Johnston’s flanks; 
that is, to throw his troops around 
tlie ends of Johnston’s lines and 
attack him on one side or in the 
rear. As often as Sherman at- 
tempted this, Johnston fell back 
to another line of fortifications. 
Johnston thought the farther south 
Sherman came, the weaker he 
would be, because he would have 


William Tecumseh Sheeman. 

One of the ablest Union generals of 
the Civil War. Born in Lancaster, 
Ohio, Feb. 8, 1820; died in New 
York, Feb. 14,1891. Graduated at 
West Point, 1840; served in Cali- 
fornia, 1849; taught in the Louisi- 
ana Military Academy, i860; fought 
at Bull Run, Shiloh, Vicksburg, 
Chattanooga, Atlanta. He was 
called “ crazy” for saying at the. be- 
ginning of the war that it would 
take two hundred thousand men 
and four years to subdue the South. 
His ‘‘ Memoirs ” contain the story 
of his life and of his part in the 
Civil War, and of his famous 
“ March from Atlanta to the Sea.” 


to leave men all along the line to guard the single railroad over 
which his supplies came, and would have to build and guard his 
tunnels. Johnston could then give battle under more favorable 
circumstances, and he had planned to do so. 

But the Southern people who did not understand this re- 
treating policy were impatient for more aggressive action, and 



Final Movements of the War 

506 . Sherman advances on Atlanta. — As Grant entered the 
Wilderness, Sherman began his advance from Chattanooga to 
Atlanta (May 4, 1864). Sherman had one hundred thousand 
seasoned soldiers. He was op- 
posed by General Joseph E. John- 
ston with an army of about sixty- 
five thousand men. There were 


420 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Battle of 
Franklin. 


President Davis, who disliked Johnston, removed him from com- 
mand and put General J. B. Hood in his place. Hood had a 
reputation as a fighter, but he lacked the discretion of Johnston. 
He did what was expected of him. He made three furious but 
rash attacks on Sherman’s forces around Atlanta, was defeated 
each time, and was compelled to surrender the city. 

507 . Thomas in Tennessee. — Hood marched north into Ten- 
nessee, hoping to draw Sherman after him for the defense of his 
supplies. But Sherman thought it useless to pursue Hood. He 
thought Jefferson Davis wanted to “decoy him out of Georgia,” 
and he did not propose to turn back and lose the effect of his 
campaign. He had sent Thomas with a part of the army to 
Nashville, and he thought the “ Rock of Chickamauga ” would 
be able to take care of Hood. As Hood pressed northward 
with his army of fifty-four thousand men, Thomas gathered his 

forces around Nashville. A drawn battle was fought 
at Franklin (November 30, 1864), the Confederates 
losing heavily, — six thousand men. Hood advanced farther 
toward Nashville. 

The War Office and the country were impatient at Thomas’s 
slowness, hut that commander knew how to wait and get ready. 
The government was about to put General John A. Logan in 
his place, and Thomas said he would resign, but he would not 
fight before he was ready. He bided his time, and 
when the time was ripe he struck. In the battle of 
Nashville (December 15, 16, i864)he utterly defeated 
and overwhelmed Hood’s forces. Thomas pursued 
so vigorously that Hood’s army was scattered into 
remnants. Thomas had accomplished one of the most decisive 
successes of the war, for the Confederate army in the West was 
now completely overthrown and destroyed, and there was no 
material out of which another could be made. 

508 . The March to the Sea. — There was now no Southern 
army to oppose Sherman. That great commander, after leaving 
Hood in the care of Thomas, turned to carry out a plan which he 
had long had in mind. It was to march from Atlanta to the 


Battle of 
Nashville. 
Hood’s 
army de- 
stroyed by 
Thomas. 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 


421 


sea and again cut the Confederacy in two. His objective point 
was Richmond, a thousand miles away. He would come up 
from the seaboard, be in the rear of Lee, cooperate 

• • Sh 01*1X1.3. s 

with Grant, and end the war. On his march he object in his 

would tear up the railroads, destroy all munitions of {^^cut 

war, the cotton, the factories, the machine shops, Confeder- 

^ ^ ^ acy in two. 

and the crops, and thus, as Sheridan had done in the 
Shenandoah, destroy the resources of the country as a means of 
continuing the struggle. 

On the morning of November 15, 1864, with sixty thousand 
rugged veterans, Sherman set out from Atlanta. He had an 
open field to his goal. 

On the i6th,” says Sherman in his Memoirs,” we stood on 
the very ground whereon was fought the bloody battle of July 
22, and could see the copse of wood where Me- 
Pherson fell. Behind us lay Atlanta, smoldering tells how 

. . . . he marched 

and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air and to the 
hanging like a pall over the ruined city. Away off 
in the distance was the rear of Howard’s column, the gun barrels 
glistening in the sun, the white-topped wagons stretching away 
to the south. . . . Some band by accident struck up the anthem of 
‘John Brown’s soul goes marching on ’ ; the men caught up the 
strain, and never before or since have I heard the chorus of 
‘ Glory, glory, hallelujah,’ done with more spirit or in better har- 
mony of time and place. Even the common soldiers caught 
the inspiration, and many a group called out to me, ‘ Uncle 
Billy, I guess Grant is waiting for us at Richmond.’ ” 

Sherman had cut himself loose from his supplies, and his 
army had to forage on the country. His soldiers found plenty. 
Foraging parties would visit every farm and planta- 
tion within range. They would procure a wagon or foraging 
family carriage, load it with bacon, corn meal, tur- 
keys, chickens, ducks, and everything that could be used as 
food or forage, and bring them in for the army. These for- 
agers were called “ Sherman’s bummers,” and, no doubt, acts of 
robbery and violence were sometimes committed by them. 


422 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


For days Sherman was cut off from the outside world and no 
news came from him. On December 12 he reached Savannah. 
Fort McAllister had to be carried by assault. General Hazen’s 
division carried the fort with a rush, and on December 24 
General Hardee surrendered Savannah. Sherman 

Sherman ^ • . 

captures sent Lincoln a message presenting “ as a Christmas 

Savannah o x o 

gift the city of Savannah with one hundred and fifty 
guns, plenty of ammunition, and about twenty-five thousand 
bales of cotton.” 

509. Sherman marched through the Carolinas. — Sherman’s 
army stayed in Savannah until February, 1865. It then 
marched north through the Carolinas. Columbia was burned. 
The Confederates charged this burning on Sherman’s men ; 
Sherman said it was accidental and began with the cotton 
General Wade Hampton’s men had set on fire on leaving the city. 
It may have been due to drunken soldiers. The Confederate 
forces now had to evacuate Charleston, since a Union army was 
in their rear. In North Carolina, Sherman was again confronted 
by his old antagonist. General J. E. Johnston, whom Jefferson 
Davis had felt compelled to recall to his command. Johnston 
had collected a small army of thirty thousand men, made up from 
the garrisons from Savannah and Charleston and the remnants 
Battles of Hood’s army. In a small battle at Averysboro 
Averys- ^iid a severe one at Bentonville, near Goldsboro, Tohn- 

boro and 

Benton- ston was defeated. Sherman passed from Goldsboro 
to Raleigh without opposition, where he awaited news 
from Grant. 

510. Naval Operations. Admiral Farragut captures Mobile Bay. 

— So the year 1864 had all but ended the war. In this year the 
navy was doing its part of the work. In August, 1864, Admiral 
Farragut entered Mobile Bay, running past the forts in the 
harbor as he had done at New Orleans. Lashed to his rigging, 
above the smoke of battle, Farragut gave his signals. The bay 
was planted with torpedoes. Farragut signaled, “Nevermind 
the torpedoes, go ahead ! ” The Tecumseh was torpedoed and 
sunk, but the rest of the fleet of eighteen vessels got through, 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 


423 


captured the ironclad Tennessee^ silenced the forts, and com- 
pelled the surrender of the city. This closed the port of 
Mobile. 

In January, 1865, Fort Fisher 
fell, and Wilmington, North Caro- 
lina, was surrendered. Charles- 
ton, the last Confederate port on 
the Atlantic, had succumbed when 
Sherman marched into South 
Carolina. The Confederacy was 
now only a closed shell, thin and 
almost empty. 

511. The Confederate Privateers. 

The Alabama destroys Northern 
Commerce. — On the open sea the 
Confederate cruisers had been 
doing great damage. These ‘‘com- 
merce destroyers ” had been 
scouring the seas in search of 
Northern merchant vessels. They 
burnt all they could find, and 
thousands of dollars’ worth of 
property was lost by Northern 
merchants. The most famous of 
these cruisers was the Alabama. 

Liverpool. The British government was informed by our 
minister, Charles Francis Adams, that this vessel was being 
built for the purpose of preying upon the commerce of the 
United States. As a friendly neutral. Great Britain was under 
obligation to prevent her ports from being used in this way. 
Great Britain did not exercise “due diligence” to prevent the 
Alabama from going to sea, and afterward, in 1873, that gov- 
ernment was compelled, by the Geneva award, to pay the United 
States fifteen million dollars for the damage done by the 
Alabama. For two years the Alabama cruised on the Atlantic 
while the war vessels of the United States tried to catch her. 



David Glasgow Farragut. 


A noted admiral in the American 
navy. Of Scotch descent, he was born 
in Tennessee in iSoi, and died in 
New Hampshire, 1870. He entered 
the navy at nine, and served as mid- 
shipman during the War of 1812. In 
the Civil War he won honor at New 
Orleans, Vicksburg, and Port Hud- 
son. At Mobile Bay, in August, 1864, 
he won one of the greatest naval 
battles of the nineteenth century. 
He is the first admiral in our history. 

The Alabama was built in 



424 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


At last she was found by the Kearsarge in the harbor of Cher- 
bourg, France. Her captain, Semmes, challenged Captain 


Alabama 
sunk in 
English 
Channel, 
June 19, 
1864. 


Winslow of the Kearsarge to fight. The challenge 


was accepted, and after a short engagement the 
Alabama was sunk in the English Channel (June 19, 
1864). The sea was now clear from these destroy- 
ers of commerce. 

512 . Grant captures Richmond. — At the beginning of 1865 
Grant was holding Lee fast in Petersburg and Richmond. Lee 
could hope for no reenforcements, and his supplies were running 
short. The blockade and the destruction of supplies by the 
Union armies were starving the Confederacy. Obviously, the 
end was near; the South was about exhausted. At Live Lorks 
the forces fought (March 31 and April i), as Grant attempted 
to seize Lee’s railway communications. The Confederates were 
beaten back. Lee had but fifty thousand men ; Grant more 
than twice as many. As Grant’s forces increased, Lee had to 
lengthen his line of defense. The line became so thin — one 
man to every seven yards — it could no longer withstand assault. 
The line was broken through (April 2), and the Union troops 
then occupied the Confederate capital. 

513 . Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox. — Lee’s pur- 
pose was to retreat southward and unite with Johnston. But 
his weary men were without food, and the Federals were in 
close pursuit. The Confederates were despondent. Many 
dropped out of the ranks, threw away their arms, and took to the 
woods in the hope of reaching home. Lee’s grand army of 
northern Virginia was now reduced to twenty-eight thousand 
men. It was hemmed in by the Union forces at Appomattox 
Court House, where, on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered his 
army to General Grant. Grant put his terms of surrender in 
writing. They were most generous. Lee’s officers were to 
retain their horses and side arms, and they and their men were 
to be released on parole on the condition that they were not to 
fight any more against the United States. On April 26 John- 
ston surrendered to Sherman on the same terms. 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 425 

The Confederate soldiers had done all they could for their 
cause, and in their final defeat, as in their many well-earned 
victories, their courage and devotion commanded the respect 
and honor of their countrymen and of all the world. 

The North was full of rejoicing at Lee’s surrender. Bonfires, 
illuminations, and jubilees were held in every city and town. 
The people were heartily tired of bloodshed and war, and they 
had a deep and abiding joy now that peace had come. 

514 . Assassination of President Lincoln. — From this joy the 
nation was thrown into the deepest gloom and sorrow by the 
assassination of President Lincoln. On the evening of April 14, 
1865, the President went to Ford’s Theater for rest and recrea- 
tion. John Wilkes Booth, a sentimental actor, who sympathized 
with the South, and who wished notoriety, gained access to the 
President’s box in the theater and shot him in the head. Presi- 
dent Lincoln died the next morning, Saturday, April 15. At 
the same time an attempt was made on the life of Secretary 
Seward, and he was severely wounded. This seemed like a 
conspiracy, and the people of the North felt that it was but the 
last act of a wicked rebellion. The people were intensely angry 
and many of them felt revengeful. Booth was pursued and 
shot. Four other conspirators were hanged and four imprisoned. 

515 . Cost of the War. — The war was over, but no man can 
estimate its cost. By the middle of 1863 it* was costing the 
national government $3,000,000 a day. It left a national debt 
of $2,850,000,000. Taxation produced $800,000,000 more for 
war expenses. When one thinks of the debts and expenses of 
the Confederacy, and of the Northern states ; of private losses 
and contributions ; of the millions paid in pensions ; of the loss 
of property at sea from the Confederate privateers ; of the de- 
struction and waste that came from the desolating raids of the 
armies ; of the great loss in possible production while men were 
engaged in destruction, one sees how impossible it is to calcu- 
late the cost of such a war. It is safe to say it would have fed 
and clothed every family in the nation for a generation to come. 
But its greatest cost was not in dollars and cents. It cost also 


426 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


five hundred thousand lives, and untold suffering from imprison- 
ment, wounds, and disease. 

516. Suffering of the South. — The North had not felt the 
miseries of war like the South. In the North work had gone 
on as in time of peace, in field and shop, in city and town. But 
the South was like a vast military camp. There almost all the 
able-bodied white men were drafted for the war. Only the 
slaves were left to work the fields and take care of the homes. 
From Mississippi to Virginia the country had suffered the devas- 
tation that comes from siege and battle and the tramp of armies. 
Plantations and farms and all industries were laid in ruins, and 
when the Southern soldiers returned to their homes it was to 
face poverty at their firesides, with a father, brother, or son dead 
in every home. When Sherman ordered the evacuation of 
Atlanta, exiling from their homes the sick, the old, the feeble, 
the women and the children, he said to the people who pro- 
tested, ^‘War is cruelty; you cannot refine it.” The people, 
especially in the South, had tasted war’s cruel dregs, and they 
prayed that the nation might forever after be spared the desolat- 
ing curse of war. 

517. Results of the War. — Were the results of the war worth 
all this suffering and sacrifice ? While the war brought out 
brutality and greed, it also brought out a spirit of courage, self- 
sacrifice, and devotion. Its great results may be summed up as 
follows : — 

1. The Union of the states was preserved. It was decided 

1. Union Under the Constitution, the states were united 

preserved. Jj^^q nation, iiot into a mere league of states. 

2. The right of secession may no longer be claimed. This 
right, if it ever existed, died in the war. Of course, war can 

2. Seces- never settle which side is right and which side is 
Sion dead, wrong, blit Only which side shall prevail. The Civil 

War settled that the national view of secession, not the state 
rights view, shall prevail. 

3. Slavery was forever abolished and the subject of so many 
years of dispute was now removed. The thirteenth amend- 


THE CIVIL WAR: THE LAST TWO YEARS 


427 


ment came out of the war. This was passed by Congress in 
January, 1865. It was submitted to the states, ratified by three 
fourths of them, and on December 18, 1865, Mr. 

Seward, the Secretary of State, proclaimed it a part 

of the Constitution. It provided that slavery should amendment 

. adopted. 

no longer exist m the United States. It was deemed Slavery 
wise to write this great result of the war into the ished. 
fundamental law. Its passage was hailed as an ‘‘ im- 
mortal and sublime event.” 

4. Citizenship for the negro also came out of the war. 
Before the war a descendant of an African slave could not be a 
citizen (Supreme Court decision, Dred Scott case). 

Now as a direct result of the war, and before the ship ^granted 
Union was restored, American citizenship was ex- 

^ negro. 

tended to every one born or naturalized in the United 

States, regardless of race, color, or religion ; and this was written 

in the fundamental law of the land. 

5. The war also showed the strength of republican 5. strength 
institutions. The war showed the capacity of the jican^m^tP 
people for self-government, that they could save them- tutions 
selves from dissolution and destruction. 

518 . The Grand Parade at Washington, May, 1865. — At the 
close of the war, the United States had about one million men in 
arms. On the 23d and 24th of May a grand parade was held 
in Washington of the veteran armies under Meade and Sherman. 
Here was the military strength of the nation made manifest. It 
was a grand sight. “ Nearly all day, for two successive days,” 
says General Grant, from the Capitol to the Treasury Building, 
could be seen a mass of soldiers marching in columns. The 
national flag was flying from almost every house and store; the 
windows were filled with spectators ; the doorsteps and side- 
walks were crowded with people for a view of the grand 
armies.” 

Confidence was inspired in the government that could com- 
mand such an army. The South was exhausted, yet it seemed 
that the nation was now but just ready to put forth its strength. 


428 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The fact was, the North was much stronger at the close of the 


The vol- 
unteer 
army re- 
turns to the 
patriotism 
of citizen- 
ship. 


war than at its beginning. Yet within less than a 
year these vast armies of the nation were disbanded 
and the volunteer soldiers were engaged in the ordi- 
nary affairs of life. The patriotism of war had given 
place to the patriotism of peace. 


FACTS AND DATES 

1861. Fort Sumter fired upon (April 13), Lincoln called for Volunteers 
(April 15), First Bloodshed of the War (April 19). 

1861. Secession of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. 

1861. The Trent Affair. 

1862. Monitor defeats the Merrimac^ Battle of Shiloh, Peninsular Campaign, 

Battle of Antietam. 

1863. Emancipation Proclamation (January i). 

1863. First Draft for the Union Army (March 3). 

1863. Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3), Fall of 

Vicksburg (July 4). 

1864. Battles of the Wilderness, Farragut's Victory at Mobile Bay, Thomas 

defeats Hood at Nashville, Sherman’s March from Atlanta to the Sea 
(November and December). 

1864. Capture of Savannah (December 21). 

1865. Sherman marches from Savannah to North Carolina, Richmond cap- 

tured (April 3), Lee surrendered (April 9), Johnston surrendered 
(April 26), Jefferson Davis captured (May ii). Union Armies dis- 
banded, Thirteenth Amendment ratified. 


CHAPTER XXXVI 


THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


619. What the Problem of Reconstruction involved. — The 

Period of Reconstruction includes the years from 1865 to 1876, 
— from the end of the Civil War to the election of President 
Hayes. The Union had been 
broken for a time by secession 
and war, and it had to be re- 
stored. Fixing the conditions on 
which the Southern states were 
again to govern themselves and 
be represented in Congress is 
called Rc'construction, 

Two classes of people were to 
be considered : {a) those who had 
borne arms against the Union, 
and (^) the slaves who had been 
made free by the war. 

520. Andrew Johnson Presi- 
dent. — On the death of President 
Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became 
President of the United States. 

Johnson had been senator from 
Tennessee before the war and 
military governor of Tennessee 
during the war. He had stood up stoutly for the Union in 
the South, and it was for this reason that he was put on the 
‘^National Union” ticket with Lincoln in 1864. But he was a 
Southern man and a Democrat, and many Northern men dis- 
trusted him and feared that he would attempt to restore the 

429 



Andrew Johnson. 

Born in North Carolina in 1808. lie 
was a tailor by trade and his early edu- 
cation was very limited. It is said that 
he learned to read and write after 
reaching manhood. He was gov- 
ernor of Tennessee when elected Vice 
President. After Lincoln’s death he be- 
came President, and was later United 
States Senator. He died in 1875. 



430 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERI^MENT 


South and the Democratic party to power. While Johnson was 
honest and courageous and patriotic, he was obstinate and igno- 
rant. He was without tact, and he did not know how to lead. 
He was sure to offend where he ought to persuade. Although 
he took the same course that Mr. Lincoln had pointed out, he 
did it in such a way as to antagonize the North and drive Con^ 
gress into open opposition. He did not respect those who op- 
posed him or know when to yield to the opinions of others, as 
Mr. Lincoln did. 

521. Johnson^s Plan of Reconstruction. — On May 29, 1865, 
President Johnson began the work of reconstruction. He de- 
clared the war ended and the Constitution in force. He raised 
the blockade and opened the Southern ports to trade. He issued 
a proclamation of amnesty, pardoning all who had, taken part in 
the rebellion, excepting persons of high rank. He appointed a 
temporary governor for each of the late Confederate states. 
This governor called a convention of delegates, who were 
elected by the white voters entitled to vote under the old state 
government. This convention was required to do three things : 

1. Repeal the ordinances of secession, or declare them void. 

2. Promise never to pay any debt made for the Confederate 
cause. 3. Abolish slavery and adopt the thirteenth amend- 
ment. 

This seemed to the President to secure the results of the war, 
and when the white people of any seceded state would consent 
to reorganize their state government on this basis, he thought its 
relation to the Union should be complete and its representa- 
tives and senators should take their seats in Congress. By 
December i, 1865, all the seceded states had been reorganized 
on this plan, which is known as the Presidential Plan,” or my 
policy,” as Johnson called it. 

522. Congress refuses to recognize Johnson’s Reconstruction. 

— All this was done while Congress was not in session, in the 
summer and fall of 1865. When Congress met in December it 
refused to recognize what President Johnson had done. Mem- 
bers of Congress from the South were refused their seats, and a 


THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


431 


joint committee of fifteen was appointed by the two houses of 
Congress to take into consideration the whole subject of recon- 
struction. 

523. Reasons why Congress rejected the President’s Plan of 
Reconstruction. — There were several reasons why Congress did 
not accept the President’s plan and cooperate with him in carry- 
ing it out : — 

1. Congress thought it was not the President’s business to carry 
on reconstruction ; that he had gone too far without consulting 
Congress ; and Congress claimed the right to determine the 
conditions on which the states were to be readmitted. 

1 Con 

Johnson thought that all that Congress had to do with g^-ess 
reconstruction was to judge whether members elected Control 
to Congress had the proper qualifications. He said 
Congress had no more right to keep a state out of the Union 
than a state had to secede. The members of Congress said 
they should have full control in the matter and the President 
should carry out their policy. 

2. Johnson’s new Southern states, which were entirely under 
the control of Southern whites and ex-Confederates, had made 
harsh laws relating to the freedmen. Vagrancy and pauper 
laws were passed, which reduced the freedmen almost to a state 
of slavery. Idle negroes were declared vagrants, or 

2 V3.“ 

tramps,” and fined. As the fines could not be paid grancy 
they were “ hired out” to some white man for a cer- south, 
tain time to work out the fine. Children were bound Would the 

negroes 

out ” till they reached a certain age. People in the be reen- 
North thought this was done out of resentment, 
because the slaves had been set free. They thought the nation 
ought to exercise a guardianship over the ignorant and helpless 
negroes and protect them against injustice on the part of their 
former masters. With this view Congress had passed (in 
March, 1865) a Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, providing for Freed 
a bureau in the War Department to care for refugees men’s Bu- 
and freedmen in the South ; to give clothing, pro- 
visions, and fuel to the destitute ; and to take abandoned land 


432 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Reasons 
for the 


and parcel it out to freedmen, giving no more than forty acres 
to any one man. This seemed humane, for since the support of 
the masters was taken away from the slaves, it would be cruel 
to throw them empty-handed upon the world. 

But the business was not managed well. The Southern peo- 
ple said it had a bad effect on the negroes. The ignorant 
blacks were led to believe that the government was 
going to support them, and that there was no use in 
vagrancy working. The idle darkies were waiting around, each 
one looking for his “forty acres and a mule,” and 
wondering “ when de land was goin’ fur to be dewided.” 
Former faithful slaves were becoming good-for-nothing loafers. 
So the South felt they had reasons for their vagrancy laws. 
But such hard laws as some of their legislatures passed were 
unnecessary and ungenerous, and they had an unfortunate effect 
on reconstruction. Northern antislavery men said that if the 
freedmen were left to the mercies of the Southern states, they 
would be reenslaved, that civil rights ought to be secured for 
the blacks and they should be made equal before the law. 

3. A third reason why Congress refused to accept the Presi- 
dent’s plan was because it wished to guard more carefully 
against any future payment of the Confederate debt. They 

wanted to make the payment of this debt unconstitu- 
Confeder- tional, SO none of the Southern states could afterward 

d.tc debt. . . 

take it up. Congress thought Johnson’s plan did not 
sufficiently provide for these things. 

4. A fourth reason was a party reason. The Southern lead- 
ers (who were now all Democrats) and the Democrats of the 

North all rallied to the support of the President’s 
mfluenLs plan. The Republicans believed that the South, in 
struc^tion' Combination with the Northern Democrats, — many 
of whom the Republicans looked upon as “ copper- 
head ” sympathizers with the South, — would rule the country, 
as they had before the war. The Republican leaders in control 
of Congress determined to prevent this, and they set to work on 
the “ Congressional Plan ” of reconstruction. Thaddeus Stevens, 


THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


433 


in the House, and Charles Sumner, in the Senate, were two of 
the leaders in Congress who were determined that Johnson’s 
plan of reconstruction should be set aside. 

524. A Second Freedmen’s Bureau Bill. The Civil Rights 
Bill. — In P'ebruary, 1866, Congress passed a new Freedmen’s 
Bureau Bill, strengthening the former one and extending its 
time. In March, 1866, the Civil Rights Bill ” was passed, giv- 
ing citizenship to the negroes (not the right to vote), permitting 
them to make and enforce contracts and to sue in the courts. 
This was to give them equal protection of the law. President 
Johnson vetoed these bills, but Congress finally passed them 
both over his veto. In February, 1866, President ^ , 

. Johnson 

Johnson made a coarse and abusive public speech denounces 
against Congress and its leaders, and the Republican 
leaders abused the President in turn. The two branches of the 
government were now hopelessly at loggerheads, pulling against 
one another. 

525. Fears of the Northern Republicans for the Results of the 
War. — The Republicans felt that the reasonable results of the 
war must be made secure while they had the power, and that 
the way to do this was by a Constitutional amendment. They 
now set to work to deprive the South of what they considered its 
undue and unfair political power. In i860 the eleven 
Confederate states had sixty-one representatives in uucarpower 
Congress. Sixteen of these were due to counting 

three fifths of the slaves. Now that the slaves were Southern 

whites. 

free they would all be counted. This would give 
these states seventy members of Congress. The negroes counted 
in population, but only the white people voted. Thus the South- 
ern whites would have more power than before. It was this 
consideration that led the Republican leaders to adopt the suf- 
frage provision of the fourteenth amendment. The plan was 
that if the Southern states would enfranchise the negroes, then 
the Republicans were willing for those states to have seventy 
representatives in Congress and ninety-tivo votes in the electoral 
college ; for it was supposed the negroes would vote the Repub- 


434 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


lican ticket and elect some Republicans. But if these states 
denied the colored man the right to vote, then their representation 
should be reduced in like proportion, — to forty-five in the House 
and sixty-seven in the electoral college. This made it to the 
interest of the South to let the negro vote, but each state was 
left free to determine that matter for itself. It was claimed 
that this would be fair and yet would keep in power those who 
would be loyal to the results of the war, — freedom and civil 
rights for the negro and repudiation of the Confederate debt. 

526 . The Fourteenth Amendment. — The fourteenth amend- 
ment was then adopted. It provided : — 

(1) That citizenship should be conferred on the negro, 
with equal protection of the laws. The principle of the Civil 
Rights Bill was to be put into the Constitution, so that a subse- 
quent Congress could not change it. 

(2) That representation should be based on population, but if 
any state denied United States citizens (males above twenty- 
one) the right to vote, its representation should be reduced 
accordingly. 

(3) That all the leaders of the South who had ever taken an 
oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and had 
afterward engaged in insurrection or rebellion,” should be dis- 
abled from holding office in state or nation. Congress could re- 
move such disabilities by a two-thirds vote.^ This cut out the 
leadership of the South, and was intended as a punishment for 
rebellion. It was an expression of the bitterness and anger that 
existed at the time, and it was the outcome of a feeling very prev- 
alent in the North that the leaders of the rebellion had been 
guilty of a great crime and were unfit to be intrusted with power. 

(4) This important amendment also made it forever unlawful 
for the United States or any state to pay any debt ‘incurred in 
aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States,” and 
it said that ‘‘the validity of the United States debt shall never 
be questioned.” 

This amendment was submitted to the states in June, 1866, 

^ All such disabilities have long since been removed. 


THE EERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


435 


and Congress determined not to readmit any Southern state re- 
fusing to accept it. All rejected these terms except 
Tennessee, which was immediately restored to the The four- 

rr-i r 1 teenth 

Union. The fourteenth amendment was not finally amend- 
declared adopted till July, 1868. made a^^ 

The other states thought the conditions imposed of^reaS^^ 
were degrading ” ; or they hoped the President’s 
plan would win against the plan of Congress in the the South, 
approaching fall elections of 1866. 

527. Elections of 1866 . Reconstruction the Issue. — There 
was intense interest in the political campaign of that year. It was 
to decide which plan of reconstruction the country would sustain, 
the President’s plan or the plan of Congress. Although it was 
an ‘‘off year,” — no President was to be elected, — there were 
four large national conventions, two on the President’s side, two 
on the side of Congress. A fearful riot occurred in New 
Orleans (July 30, 1866), in which thirty-seven negroes qj._ 
were killed and over one hundred wounded, together 
with some of their white friends. The Republicans said this was 
the way the freedmen would be treated under Johnson’s recon- 
structed governments ; that negroes could not obtain the equal 
protection of the laws. They charged that the life and property 
of Union men in the South were unsafe, and that at least a 
thousand had been murdered within a year. These things 
helped the Republicans in the North. President Johnson made 
“a swing around the circle,” that is, a trip through the country. 
He made coarse speeches in some of the Western cities, bandy- 
ing epithets with the crowd. He injured his cause and dis- 
graced his office. The election resulted in an over- 
whelming victory for Congress. More than two- 
thirds majority were elected against the President, congress 


Thus when Congress met in December, 1866, the 

^ ^ ^ President. 

Congressional leaders had been triumphant in the 
election, and the South had rejected the terms offered in the 
fourteenth amendment. 

528. The Reconstruction Acts of Congress. — Much harder 


43 ^ 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


terms were now to come for the South. By keeping out mem- 
bers from the South the Republicans had a two-thirds majority 
in Congress united against the President, and they could pass 
any measure they pleased over his veto. The reconstruction 
acts were passed (March, 1867), which overthrew the govern- 
ments President Johnson had set up and placed the South under 
military rule. The late Confederate states were divided into 
five military districts, with a brigadier-general in 
ruiel^^Ne- Command of each. The people were to elect dele- 
g^fcs to new state conventions, and these conventions 
were to make new constitutions. In choosing these 
delegates the negroes were allowed to vote, and the ex-Confed- 
erates, the leading white people, were not allowed to vote. No 
white man could vote unless he could take the ‘Hronclad oath,’’ . 
Ironclad ^ad not bome arms against the United States, 

oath. The new constitutions were to provide for manhood 

suffrage, — one man, one vote, regardless of color, excepting 
that certain important classes of whites were shut out; that is, 
those named in the fourteenth amendment. The constitutions 
were then to be submitted to these voters. After they were 
ratified by the voters and were approved by Congress, and 
after the fourteenth amendment had been accepted the sfates 
could be readmitted to the Union, their senators and representa- 
tives might be seated in Congress, and reconstruction would be 
considered complete. Under these conditions all the seceding 
states (except Tennessee, already restored) were readmitted by 
1870. It was these reconstruction acts and not the fifteenth 
amendment that imposed negro suffrage upon the South. The 
fifteenth amendment, adopted in 1870, forbade any state from 
denying the suffrage to any one on account of race, color, or 
previous condition of servitude. It was passed to prevent the 
negroes from being disfranchised if the state governments of 
the South should later come under white control. Its purpose 
has been defeated in some of the states. 

529. Thaddeus Stevens. — Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania 
was the leader in Congress most responsible for the reconstruc- 


THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


437 


tion measures. Stevens was an able lawyer and a forcible 
leader, a friend of popular education, and an advocate of equal 
rights for all men. He was a radical and violent partisan, even 
vindictive in his spirit. He hated the “ rebels,” and 
he wanted to punish them. He thought they were ^ant^d to 
responsible for all the suffering and expense of the 
war, and he made a speech in favor of confiscating 
their property as a war indemnity and for the benefit of the 
slaves. His ‘Hheory of reconstruction” was that the Southern 
states were like conquered provinces ; they had no right to the 
protection of the Constitution, but only such rights as the victor 
chose to give, according to the laws of war. 

530. The Tenure of Office Act. Impeachment of President 
Johnson. — Before this Congress expired, in March, 1867, in 
order to tie President Johnson down, and to prevent him from 
removing Republican officeholders. Congress passed the Tenure 
of Office Act. This provided that the President, before remov- 
ing an officer, should give his reasons to the Senate for doing so. 
If these were not satisfactory, the officer should not be removed. 
All this shows the bitter feeling that existed between the Presi- 
dent and Congress. 

In spite of the Tenure of Office Act, Johnson attempted to 
remove his Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, who was 
opposed to the President’s policy, and who had refused to 
resign. It shows what an unbearable position President John- 
son was in, not to be able to choose his own Cabinet officers. But 
the House of Representatives considered his attempt to remove 
Stanton a high crime and misdemeanor,” and they voted to 
impeach the President before the Senate. They tried to show 
that he was violating the law or was refusing to be bound by an 
act of Congress. The Senate sat as a trial court, and Chief 
Justice Chase presided. If the President were found guilty, 
he would be removed from office and be incapable of holding 
any office thereafter. Two thirds were required to convict, and 
when the Senate voted the President escaped by only one vote. 

531. Election of 1868 . Reconstruction still the Issue. — Be- 


438 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


fore the election of 1868 all the new governments set up by 
Congress in the South, except three (Virginia, Mississippi, and 
Texas), had accepted the terms Congress imposed. These 
governments, largely controlled by negroes, had ratified the 
fourteenth amendment. Congress had admitted their repre- 
sentatives to seats, and their reconstruction was considered 



complete. But many Democrats felt that all this reconstruction 

work of Congress was unconstitu- 
tional and revolutionary, and that 
if they could elect the President 
and get control of Congress it 
ought to be overthrown as null 
and void. The Democratic can- 
didate for Vice President in 1868 
said this ought to be done. So 
reconstruction was again an issue 
in the Presidential election of that 
year. 

The Republicans nominated 
General Grant of Illinois for Pres- 


Ulysses S. Grant. 

Unconditional Surrender ” Grant 
was born in Ohio in 1822, and died 
in New York in 1885. He was grad- 
uated from West Point. By able, 
energetic, and persistent work in 
the West during the Civil War he 
became the head of the Union 
Army. He was twice President of 
the United States. Later he made a 
trip around the world, and was re- 
ceived with great honor everywhere. 


ident and Schuyler Col- 

O'Fs.nt d,nd n r T 1 * ^ T T* 

Seymour 01 Indiana tor Vice 

Tandidates. President. Colfax had 
been Speaker of the 
House of Representatives. They 
stood for the reconstruction meas- 


ures of Congress, and denounced 
Johnson. 

The Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour of New York 


for President and Francis P. Blair of Missouri for Vice Presi- 


dent. They denounced the reconstruction work of Congress, 
and blamed the Republicans for establishing military despotism 
and negro supremacy at the South.” They said the national 
debt should be paid in “lawful money of the United States,” 
meaning greenbacks. The Republicans said the debt should be 
paid “ according to the spirit of the law,” meaning coin. 


THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


439 


Grant and Colfax were elected by a large majority. The 
South was mostly Republican under negro suffrage. Grant 
had two hundred and fourteen electoral votes. Sev- 
mour had eighty. The electoral votes of Virginia, elected 
Texas, and Mississippi were not counted. Nebraska 
was admitted in 1867 in time to take part in this election. 
This made thirty-seven states in all. 

532. ^ Negro Rule in the South. — So Congressional reconstruc- 
tion was to be sustained by the national government. But dur- 
ing the next eight years (1868-1876) it was doomed 

to be overthrown in the South. It could not be made was sus- 

td.1110 d • 

to work with the local sentiment so strongly against it. 

The reconstruction governments of Congress were like gall 
and wormwood to the white people of the South. They made 
ignorant negroes the rulers of their states. Negroes sat in the 
seats once occupied by the able statesmen of the South. The 
slaves were set up to make laws for the masters. Negroes 'were 
sent to Congress, and the capable white people, the natural 
leaders of the South, were left out. This was more than human 
nature could bear. The negroes were incapable of ruling ; they 
were just out of bondage; in some states ninety per cent of 
them could neither read nor write. They had no property; so 
high taxes made no difference to them. They had always been 
used to being directed. They knew only enough to know that 
the Republicans had set them free, and they voted the Republican 
ticket by instinct. They were therefore easily controlled by 
bad white men. ^ 

533. Scalawags and Carpetbaggers. — The negro legislatures 
and the negroes in politics now came under the control of two 
classes of white people, the Southern “ scalawags ” and Northern 
“carpetbaggers.” The “scalawags” were mostly Southern 
scamps who were ready to use the negro for their own gain. 
The “carpetbaggers” were Northern men who had settled in 
the South after the war, and were so called because all the prop- 
erty they had, it was said, could be carried in a carpetbag. 
They had no property interests at stake. There were good men 


440 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


among them who were interested in the negro and who wished 
well to the South ; but many of them were unscrupulous adven- 
turers, intent on gain. 

These new rulers of the South — “ carpetbaggers,” '‘scala- 
wags,” and negroes — began to waste and steal the public 
money. They borrowed money on state bonds, which they used 
corruptly. They increased the taxes and piled up debts on the 
states which the Southern whites were expected to pay. The 
corruption and extravagance were unbearable. The suffering 
and degradation of the South seemed darker than in the days 
of the war, and it was this experience that made the “ Solid 
South ” against which the Republican party has contended to 
this day. 

534. The Mistake of Reconstruction. — The great mistake of 
reconstruction was in imposing negro suffrage on the South 
before the negroes were ready for it, and in attempting to keep 
the capable white people from governing in the Southern states. 
Intelligence and property will rule in the long run. It was 
impossible to keep the ignorant negroes in power. Ignorance 
and vice have no right to rule. The consequence was that the 
Southern white people began a determined effort to regain con- 
trol of their state governments. A bitter feeling existed be- 
tween them and the “Yankee carpetbaggers ” who had come 
South to make laws for them. Race hatred was aroused. A 
secret society was organized by the whites, called the “Ku Klux 
Klan,” whose purpose was to fill the negroes with terror and 
The Ku counteract the work "^of their white leaders. The 
Klux Klan. “ Ku Klux ” rode out at night dressed like ghosts in 
hideous caps and long white gowns. They had meetings in 
mysterious “dens.” They appeared at negro cabins in the 
dead of night, claiming to be the ghostly spirits of dead Confed- 
erates, come to warn the negroes to stop voting and taking part 
in politics. The negroes were superstitious and were easily 
frightened. But if the Ku Klux warnings were unheeded, the 
leading negroes, and the white men who encouraged them, were 
whipped, or driven away, or in many instances were murdered. 


THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


441 


So by whipping, burning, plundering, torturing, and killing, the 
negroes were driven out of voting and holding office. 

535 . ‘‘ Force Bills are passed. — Congress was angry at this 
defiance of its reconstruction measures. Force bills ” were 
passed (1870-1872) to prevent these disorders and to protect 
the negro, and to place elections in control of United States 
officers. The President was authorized to suspend the writ of 
habeas corpus and to suppress insurrection, and the power of 
the national courts was extended. The better class of white 
people deplored the Ku Klux evils, and after 1872 they were 
generally suppressed. Later, the whites in some states, instead 
of '‘bulldozing,” — a word which originated in the practice of in- 
timidating the negroes during this period, — used tissue 

ballots and stuffed the ballot boxes and carried the i^g^^and' 
elections by fraud. So partly by violence and partly 
by fraud, the Southern whites by 1876 obtained con- 
trol of all their state governments. 

Both races at the South suffered greatly from these wrongs, 
and have continued to suffer from the unfortunate conditions 
and bitter strife of reconstruction times. Happily, better condi- 
tions now exist; the South enjoys local self-government and 
equal rights within the Union; and harmony and peace pre- 
vail between North and South. The " Blue ” and the "Gray ” 
mingle together in common reunions and in mutual respect. 

536 . Election of 1872. — General Grant was reelected Presi- 
dent in 1872. Henry 'Wilson of Massachusetts was elected Vice 
President. The conditions in the South were still the main sub- 
ject of discussion. The Democrats nominated Horace Greeley 
of New York and B. Gratz Brown of Missouri. 

Greeley was not a Democrat ; he had been a lifelong crats 
Whig and Republican, and he had said many hard the^Liberai 
things about the Democrats. But Greeley and Brown 

had already been nominated by the " Liberal Repub- 
licans,” those who were dissatisfied with General Grant and 
wished to prevent his reelection. They wanted reform in the 
civil service, a change in the tariff, and a policy of pardon and 


442 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


amnesty for the South, but they wanted the reconstruction 
measures to stand. The Democrats accepted both the platform 
and candidate of the Liberal Republicans, with the cry of “any- 
Grant thing to beat Grant.” But Greeley was badly beaten, 
defeats and died before the electors met to cast their votes. 
Greeley. had two hundred and eighty-seven electoral 

votes out of three hundred and fo^ty-nine. 

537. Political Scandals arose. — during Grant’s second term 
many political scandals arose. A ‘^whisky ring” — a com- 
bination of revenue officers and distillers — were cheating the 
government out of the taxes on whisky. A Secretary of War, 
Belknap, was guilty of taking bribes from Indian agents, and 
escaped impeachment by resigning. These Indian agents were 
cheating the Indians in furnishing them supplies. The Credit 
Mobilier ” Company (organized to carry out certain contracts 
on the Pacific Railroad) gave some of its stock to members of 
Congress as a means of inducing them to vote for certain bills 
the company wanted passed. It was charged that the scheme 
for annexing San Domingo was promoted by government agents 
who had land in that island and who wanted to increase its 
value. So there were many scandals arising to give the admin- 
istration a bad name. 

General Grant was not himself guilty of wrongdoing in these 
matters, but he had surrounded himself by favorites who had 
imposed upon him and abused his confidence. Grant 
guifty^^ urged the prosecution of these offenders. He said. 

Let no guilty man escape.” But there was much 
dissatisfaction with his administration and a demand 
for reform arose. 

538. Panic and Hard Times follow. — Financial questions also 
came to the front during Grant’s second term. A terrible finan- 
cial panic swept over the country in 1873 . There were many 
business failures, and many men who were in debt were ruined 
financially. Their stock of goods, their factories, or their farms 
could not be sold for enough to pay their debts. When they 
went into debt, their properties could have been sold for much 


man es- 


cape. 


THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


443 


more than the amount they borrowed. It is hard to explain the 
cause of a panic. There are many conflicting views about it. 
But whenever prices of products go down rapidly a panic and 
hard times are apt to follow. Prices depend partly on the sup- 
ply of money. Just after the war there was plenty of money, 
owing to the issue of banknotes and greenbacks. Prices were 
very high. Wheat sold for three dollars a bushel and flour for 
twenty-one dollars a barrel. ** By 1874 wheat was selling for a 
little over a dollar a bushel and flour for about seven dollars a 
barrel, and other products had dropped accordingly. It was 
disastrous to have such a change occur in so short a time. It 
upset all the calculations of men ; they did not know what to 
depend on two years ahead. Men who had gone in debt for 
their farms could not pay their mortgages with the products of 
their farms at these falling prices. If they had calculated to 
pay their debt with so many bushels of wheat, they found 
it required two or three times as many bushels and they had 
to work two or three times as long. 

539. Financial Legislation, 1873-1879. — Many people be- 
lieved that this change of prices had been brought about by 
the money policy of the government. Soon after the war the 
government began to call in the greenbacks and destroy 
them. It then decided to ‘^resume specie payments,” that is, 
pay all obligations in coin. This was done in 1879, as we 
shall see later (see § 544). In 1873 the silver dollar was 
dropped from the coinage. This was called the “demonetiza- 
tion of silver ” and was afterward denounced as the “ crime 
of 1873.” This left the gold coin the only legal standard of 
value. 

540. The Greenback Party organized. — All this seemed to 
change the standard by which values and prices were meas- 
ured, to the ruin of debtors. The “Greenback party” arose, 
which demanded that the greenback be reissued and used as 
real money and in paying off the national debt. The “ Farmers’ 
Grange ” and “ Patrons of Industry ” were organized by farmers 
throughout the country, and they demanded that the govern- 


444 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


ment should issue more money and that the railroads should be 
controlled and prevented from charging extravagant prices for 
freight. As the result of the dissatisfaction and hard times, the 
Democrats carried the Congressional elections in 1874, and they 
hoped to turn the Republicans out of power in 1876. 

541. The Contested Election of 1876 . — In 1876 the Repub- 
licans nominated Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio for 
President and William A. Wheeler of New York for Vice 
President. They declared for the results of the war, — debt 
payment in coin, reform in the civil service, a tariff to pro- 
tect American labor, no further land grants to corporations, 
investigation of Chinese immigration, and a consideration of 
woman’s rights. 

The Democrats nominated Governor Samuel J. 
Hayes are Tilden of New York and Governor Thomas A. 
opposing Hendricks of Indiana. They charged corruption 

candidates. j o r 

and demanded reform in all departments of the 
government service. 

The “Greenback” party, or the “Independent National” 
party, nominated Peter Cooper of New York and Samuel P'. 
Cary of Ohio. They demanded a repeal of the Specie Re- 
sumption Act and an increase of the currency by a larger 
issue of greenbacks. 

The Prohibition party (which had first appeared in 1872) 
nominated General Green Clay Smith of Kentucky and G. T. 
Stuart of Ohio for President and Vice President. 

The result of the election was very close between Hayes and 
Tilden. There were thirty-eight states, Colorado having been 
admitted in August, 1876. There were three hundred and sixty- 
nine electoral votes, one hundred and eighty-five being necessary 
to a choice. Each side claimed that its electors were chosen in 
Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida, and there was a dispute 
over one electoral vote in Oregon. Thus twenty electoral votes 
were disputed. Tilden had one hundred and eighty-four votes 
without dispute, Hayes only one hundred and sixty-five. In 
Congress the Senate was Republican, and the House was 


THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 


445 


Democratic, and they could not agree which set of the doubtful 
returns should be counted. The result was the creation of the 
Electoral Commission to decide. This consisted of five senators, 
(three Republicans and two Democrats), five representatives 
(three Democrats and two Republicans), and five members of 
the Supreme Court, three of whom were former Republicans. 
The commission was thus composed of eight Republicans and 
seven Democrats. Its decision on the disputed returns was in 
favor of the Republican electors, and as the law 
creating the commission provided that this could commit 
not be overturned except by the joint agreement of cldesln' 
the two houses of Congress, it was accepted as of 

, ^ ^ Hayes. 

deciding the result. This gave Hayes one hundred 
and eighty-five electoral votes to Tilden’s one hundred and 
eighty-four. The Democrats were disappointed and dissatisfied, 
and thought the Electoral Commission had been partisan in its 
decision ; but Mr. Tilden and his supporters patriotically ac- 
cepted the result, and Mr. Hayes was peacefully inaugurated 
March 5, 1877. 


FACTS AND DATES 

1865-1869. Lincoln and Johnson’s Administration. 

1865. Assassination of President Lincoln (April 14). 

1865. President Johnson attempts Reconstruction. 

1866. Quarrel between President Johnson and Congress. 

1866. Laying of Atlantic Cable. 

1867. Passage of Reconstruction Acts, Tenure of Office Act. 

1867. Purchase of Alaska. 

1868. Impeachment of President Johnson. 

1868. Fourteenth Amendment Ratified. 

1869-1876. Grant’s Administrations. 

1869. Completion of Pacific Railroad (surveyed in 1853). 

1870. Reconstruction Completed. 

1870. Fifteenth Amendment Ratified. 

1873. Financial Panic. 

1876. Centennial Exposition. 

1877. Electoral Commission. 


CHAPTER XXXVII 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 
President Hayes, 1877-1881 


542. A New Era begins. — The administration of President 
Hayes marks a turning point in the history of the United 
States. The nation was just emerging from the shadows of the 
Civil War and a new era was about to dawn. The work of 
reconstruction was done and the country was again united. 
The old questions which had formerly divided -the people were 
now settled, and new ones had taken their places. States’ rights 
and slavery were dead issues both North and South, and the 
people turned their attention to the reform of the civil service, 
the revision of the tariff, the regulation of railways and other 
corporations ; to the reform of the ballot and of the monetary 
system, and later to territorial expansion and to world politics. 

The South- so-called Southern Question ” appeared for the 

ern ques- last time in American politics in the election of 1876. 

tion disap- ^ 

pears from The old leaders of the Civil War days had passed 
politics. away, for the most part, and their places had been 

taken by new men who had not been intimately connected with 
that great struggle. 

In the South there was a decided change. The abolition of 
slave labor made it possible for that section to make advances in 
manufacturing as well as in agriculture ; and the New South ” 
at the present time is dotted with factories and furnaces. The 
stage was cleared for the creation of a new nation.” 

543. Character of the President. — President Hayes was not a 
brilliant man, but he was a lovable, pure, and honest one, and 
gave the country a very good administration. On account of 
the dispute over his election, he came to the Presidential chair 

446 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


447 


under unfortunate circumstances, but it was soon seen that he 
was a man of good judgment in business affairs and of high 
moral purpose. He has been more highly appreciated in recent 
years than during his lifetime. Before becoming President he 
had served his country in the Civil War, in the House of 
Representatives, and had twice been elected governor of Ohio. 

The period was one of peace 
and conciliation, and Hayes was 
just the man to lead in 

^ Peace and 

such a movement. In good will 

the Centennial Exposi- 

tion, held in Philadelphia in the 

summer of 1876, in honor of 

the one hundredth anniversary of 

the Declaration of Independence, 

Great Britain, as if taking a pride 

in the industrial advancement of 

her former colonies, was one of 

the principal exhibitors. And now 

the new President took steps to 

reconcile the South. One of the 

first acts of his administration was 

to recall the Federal troops from 

the Southern states. In doing so 

he said that he felt sure that no 

further violence was intended and that the disputes in the South 

would be settled by peaceful methods. 

In 1880 Congress passed an act which forbade the use of 
Federal troops at the polls on election day. These acts of the 
President and Congress did much to bring about a better feeling 
both North and South. 

544. The Redemption of Greenbacks began in 1879 . — An- 
other act of great importance went into effect on the* ist of 
January, 1879. During the war the government issued large 
amounts of paper money, popularly called ‘‘greenbacks.” 
These greenbacks were made legal tender, that is, a creditor 



Rutherford B. Hayes. 

Born in 1822 in Ohio ; graduated from 
Kenyon College ; practiced law, and 
later entered the Union army. Was 
elected governor of Ohio in 1867, and 
was twice reelected. He was Presi- 
dent for one term. He died in 1893. 




448 


AMERICAN HISrORY AND GOVERNMENT 


was obliged to accept them, if offered for the payment of debt, 
but they could not be exchanged for coin. Owing to the great 
expense of the war, the government found it impossible to pay 
gold and silver in return for the greenbacks. The result was 
that paper money depreciated very rapidly in value, and was 
worth at one time only thirty-five cents on the dollar, in gokl 
This had a bad effect on business, and it was the intention of the 
government to begin the exchange of gold and silver for the 
greenbacks, or ‘Mo resume specie payment,” as soon as possible. 
An act was accordingly passed by Congress in 1875 providing 
for the resumption of specie payments on January i, 1879. 
In preparing for this resumption, the government had collected 
a large amount of gold and silver in the treasury, but there was 
almost no demand for it when the time came. When the people 


equality. ® ^ ^ . 

government ever since to maintain the three kinds of 
money “ on a parity.” 

545. Garfield and Hancock were the Opposing Candidates in 
1880. — The election of 1880 was an exciting one. President 
Hayes had given the country a good administration and the 
Republican party had increased in strength, but he was not 
renominated. Grant appeared as a candidate for a third term, 
and James G. Blaine of Maine and John Sherman of Ohio 
were also candidates. It was soon seen that no one of the 
three could secure the nomination, and so James A. Garfield of 
Ohio was turned to as a compromise candidate. He was nomi- 
nated on the thirty-sixth ballot, and Chester A. Arthur of New 
York was nominated for the Vice Presidency. 

Samuel J. Tilden was in poor health and refused to be a can- 
didate, hence the Democrats chose Winfield S. Hancock of 
Pennsylvania, a brilliant Civil War soldier, as their standard 
bearer. William H. PAiglish of Indiana was nominated for the 
Vice Presidency. The Republicans declared themselves in 



found that they could get gold and silver for their 
greenbacks, they were not anxious to obtain the coin. 
Since 1879 our paper money has been as good as 


been on an our gold or silver, and it has been the policy of the 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


449 


favor of a protective tariff and a thorough reform of the 
civil service, but opposed to further grants of land to railroads 
or other corporations. The Democratic platform Garfield 
called for a tariff for revenue only, and for the distri- elected, 
bution of public land only to actual settlers. 

The Republican candidates were elected by a vote of two 
hundred and fourteen to one hundred and fifty-five in the 
electoral college. 


Garfield and Arthur, 1881-1885 


546. Garfield was assassinated by a Half-crazed Office Seeker. — 


James A. Garfield had been presi- 
dent of Hiram College (Hiram, 
Ohio), had been a major-general in 

the Union army, and had served as 

♦ 

a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives for seventeen years, be- 
fore being elected President of the 
United States. Garfield was a 
great and a good man, and would 
undoubtedly have made an ex- 
cellent President if his life had 
been spared. It was not to be so, 
however. He had been in office 
less than four months, when, on 
July 2, 1881, a half-crazed and dis- 
appointed office seeker shot him 
down in a railway station at Wash- 
ington. He passed away on the 
19th of September following, and 
his loss was mourned by the whole 
civilized world. 

547. Reform of the Civil Service, 



Jamks a. Garfield. 

Born in Ohio in 1831, he became a 
driver on the Ohio Canal, and later 
a carpenter. He was graduated 
from Williams College and became 
a noted lawyer, soldier, and orator. 
He was elected to the House of 
Representatives and later to the 
Presidency. Within a few months 
after he was made President he was 
assassinated by a disappointed and 
half-crazed office hunter. The whole 
civilized world mourned his death. 


1888. — The assassination of the President called the attention 


of the people very forcibly to the need of some better method of 


45 ^ 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


making appointments to office. The ‘‘ spoils system ” had been 
introduced into our politics in 1829, and although its evil effects 
were seen almost immediately, no political party had the courage 
to abolish it. The party out of power always snarled at the 
system, but the party in power liked to use the offices, or the 
‘"patronage,” to reward faithful political “workers.” For this 
reason civil service reform did not make much headway for 

many years. But in 1841 Presi- 
dent Harrison was pestered to 
death by office seekers, and in 
1881 the death of President Gar- 
field was due to the same cause. 
In the meantime, there were 
scores of political scandals which 
had been traced directly to the 
spoils system. This set the peo- 
ple to thinking, and in January, 
1883, the “ Pendleton Civil Service 
Act” was passed by the united 
efforts of the two parties. 

The act was introduced by a 
Democratic member of a Repub- 
lican Senate, and signed by a Re- 
publican President. It provided 
that appointments to certain gov- 
ernment offices should be made 
only upon competitive examination, that officers should not be 
removed for political reasons, and that assessments should not 
be made upon officeholders to pay campaign expenses. It also 
provided for a civil service commission to manage and develop 
the new system. Mr. Arthur, who took the oath of office on 

The “merit following the death of President Garfield, 

system” was friendly to the act and put it into effect at once. 

has been ^ 

greatly ex- Under Succeeding Presidents, the “merit system,’ as 
tended. called, was greatly extended. The first law 

applied only to a few classes of officers, but at the present time 



Chester A. Arthur. 

Born in Vermont in 1830; graduated 
from Union College, and became a suc- 
cessful lawyer. He was a friend of the 
colored man and won cases for him in 
court. He served in the Civil War, and 
was President of the United States 
for nearly a term. He died in 1886. 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


45 1 

a vast majority of our public officials hold their positions because 
of merit and not by virtue of political influence. The new sys- 
tem is not perfect, but it is much better than the old, and no 
political party would now dare to take a stand against it. 

548 . Blaine and Cleveland were the Opposing Candidates in 
1884. — Mr. Arthur was not a brilliant statesman and was not 
well known when he became President, yet he gave the country 
a dignified and honest administration. He was a candidate for 
the Republican nomination in the fall of 1884, but was defeated 
by the brilliant James G. Blaine of Maine. John A. Logan of 
Illinois, a famous soldier of the Civil War, was nominated for 
the Vice Presidencv. The Democrats nominated Grover Cleve- 

j 

land, a self-made man of great force, who had been elected gov- 
ernor of New York by a majority of 192,000. Thomas A. 
Hendricks of Indiana was his associate on the ticket. The 
campaign was a stirring one. Mr. Blaine, who was an excellent 
speaker and a man of great personal magnetism, made a tour of 
the country and aroused great enthusiasm wherever he went. 
The tariff was the principal issue of the campaign, and 
the Democrats were successful for the first time since was eiect- 

. . 6ci. 

the Civil War. The vote stood 219 to 182 in the 
electoral college, but a change of 524 votes in New York would 
have changed the result of the election. 

Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889 

549 . Presidential Succession Law passed, 1886. — Several im- 
portant measures were passed during Cleveland’s administration. 
The order of Presidential succession had been unsatisfactory 
for a long time. In 1792 Congress passed an act providing 
that the President of the Senate and after him the Speaker of 
the House should succeed to the Presidency in case the Presi- 
dent and the Vice President should not be able to perform the 
duties of the office. Vice President Hendricks died in 1885, 
and it was seen that the death of the President would place the 
government in the hands of the Republicans. This seemed 


452 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


objectionable, since the people had voted to place the Democrats 
in power for a period of four years. For this and for other 
reasons it was decided in January, 1886, that the members of 

the Cabinet should succeed to the 
Presidency in the order of the es- 
tablishment of their departments. 
This was a sensible measure, to 
which both parties agreed (see 
§§ 215, 216). 

550. The States settle Election 
Disputes. — The disputed election 
of 1876 had been the subject of 
serious thought, and various plans 
were suggested to prevent a simi- 
lar dispute in the future. Nothing 
was done until 1887. On Febru- 
ary 3 of that year Congress passed 
an act which provided that each 
state should settle for itself any 
controversy which might arise in 
regard to its electoral vote. Other- 
wise the state would lose its vote. 
Under this act the unfortunate 
dispute of 1876 cannot be repeated. 

551. Interstate Commerce Commission established, 1887 . — In 
this same year Congress passed an important act for the regula- 
tion of the railroads. The railroads of the United States did a 
great work in developing the resources of the country, but there 
have been many abuses in recent years in connection with their 
management. The lines were built a little here and a little 
there, and were later consolidated and combined until at the 
present time a very large part of the railway mileage of the 
United States is included in five great systems. Freight ship- 
pers began to complain of the rates. The rates, on the whole, 
were not too high, but they were not uniform. The roads 
granted “discriminations”; that is, in many instances an espe- 



GrOVER Cl.EVELAND. 


Born in New Jersey in 1837. 
became a teacher, then a lawyer, 
and was elected mayor of Buffalo. 
After serving as governor of New 
York, he was twice elected President 
of the United States. His present 
home is in Princeton, New Jersey. 
He takes a lively interest in public 
affairs, and writes on public questions. 


THK UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


453 


daily low freight rate was granted to certain shippers or to cer- 
tain cities. The result was to build up some manufacturers and 
to drive others out of business. To remedy these evils, 

Congress established the Interstate Commerce Com- The com- 

® ^ ^ ^ mission de- 

mission in 1887. The commission determines what termines 

railway 

rates are '‘reasonable and just,” and attempts to pre- rates, but it 
vent discriminations. It has not sufficient power, power, 
however, to enforce its decisions, and an effort is be- 
ing made at the present time to strengthen it. The regulation 
of railway rates is now (1906) a live question, to which the Presi- 
dent and Congress are giving serious attention. 

552 . Elections are purified by the Australian Ballot System. — 
In 1888 an important change in the manner of voting was in- 
troduced. In recent years the states have quite generally 
adopted the so-called "Australian Ballot System.” The names 
of the candidates of all of the parties are printed on a ticket 
provided by the state. The voter takes this ticket into a pri- 
vate booth and makes a cross within the party emblem or oppo- 
site the name of each candidate for whom he wishes to vote. 
His ballot is then placed in the box, and his name is checked 
on the list. The system has done much to purify elections. 
It discourages the purchasing of votes, because the purchaser 
cannot know in what way the ballot has been cast. 

553 . Harrison and Cleveland are the Opposing Candidates in 
1888. Harrison is chosen. — As the time for the national con- 
ventions drew near, there was a great deal of discussion in 
regard to the probable candidates. President Cleveland was 
renominated with almost no opposition, while the Republicans 
again turned to Blaine. He would not accept, however, and 
wrote a letter from Florence, Italy, in which he positively de- 
clined to be a candidate. The result was that no less than 
eighteen candidates appeared, and Benjamin Harrison of In- 
diana was nominated on the eighth ballot. The tariff was 
again the main issue. President Cleveland had devoted his 
entire message of December, 1887, to that subject, and had 
made a strong plea for a reduction of the duties. Harrison 


454 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


was elected by a vote of two hundred and thirty-three to one 
hundred and sixty-eight, although Cleveland had a small major- 
ity of the popular vote. 


Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893 

554. Harrison’s Previous Services. — President Harrison was 
the grandson of William Henry Harrison, the “ Hero of Tippe- 
canoe” and former President of 
the United States. He had a 
good war record, had served with 
distinction in the United States 
Senate, and was recognized as 
one of the ablest lawyers of his 
time. 

555. Liberal Pensions are 
granted. — In his first message the 
new President declared himself in 
favor of more liberal pensions to 
the soldiers of the Civil War. Con- 
gress promptly acted upon his ad- 
vice, and the sum expended for 
pensions was increased from $89,- 
000,000 per year to $140,000,000. 
There were now nearly a million 
names on the pension rolls. 

556. New Tariff Bills. — Presi- 
dent Cleveland’s message of 1887 called attention very forcibly 
to the necessity for a revision of the tariff duties. The Demo- 
crats went out of power soon after, but the matter was taken 
up by the Republicans in 1890. William McKinley of Ohio 
was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in the House, 
and under his supervision a new tariff measure was made up. 
Under the Act of 1883 the duties averaged about forty-three 
per cent; under the McKinley tariff measure, which became a 
law in October of 1890, the duties averaged about forty-nine per 



Benjamin Harrison. 

Born in Ohio in 1833. He served 
as a soldier in the Civil War, was 
an able constitutional lawyer, ora- 
tor, United States senator, and 
President of the United States. 
He died at Indianapolis in 1901. 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


455 


cent. The protective feature in our tariff was thus not only 
retained but increased. 

The McKinley Act also introduced the principle of 
‘‘ reciprocity.” The President was authorized to lower of 1890 

. incr0d.sc(l 

the duties on goods coming to our ports from foreign the average 
countries, in case the countries from which the goods 
came agreed to admit American goods at a reduced rate. 

When the Democrats returned to power they re- 
duced the tariff duties to some extent by the Wil- ocratk^™' 
son Act ” of August 27, 1894. The measure was not 

satisfactory to any one, and President Cleveland duced the 
, . duties. 

allowed it to become a law, but would not sign it. 

When the Republicans under President McKinley returned 
to power in 1897, a special session of Congress was called to 
consider the tariff question. The result was that the 
“ Dingley Act,” under which we are now living, was ley Act of 

, . T 4: 4- T-u- 4- 1 raised 

passed m June ot that year. I his act marks a re- duties to a 
turn to the high protective policy of the Republican point, 
party. It even increased to some extent the rates which pre- 
vailed under the McKinley Act. In recent years there has 
been something of a reaction against these high tariff duties, 
and many Republicans are coming to the conclusion that in 
some cases they might well be reduced. 

557 . New States admitted. — The country continued to pros- 
per and to increase in population. The census of 1890 showed 
sixty-two million people. The tide of immigration was large 
and the West was rapidly filling up. Four new states — North 
and South Dakota, Washington, and Montana — were admitted 
in 1889, and Idaho and Wyoming came into the Union in 1890. 
Utah, the last state, was admitted in 1896, making a 

total of forty-five. Four territories. New Mexico, now (1906) 
Arizona, Oklahoma, and Indian Territory, are now 
(1906) seeking admission. There are no other terri- temto- 
tories, aside from Alaska and the outlying islands. 

558 . Cleveland, Harrison, and Weaver were Candidates for the 
Presidency in 1892. Cleveland was elected. — In the fall of 1892 


45 ^ 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Harrison and Cleveland were again the candidates of their respec- 
tive parties, and the issues were much the same as those of 1888. 

The “ People’s party ” appeared for the first time in this cam- 
paign and nominated James B. Weaver of Iowa for the Presi- 
dency. The new party declared itself in favor of the free 
coinage of silver, an income tax, and the government ownership 
of railroads and telegraph and telephone lines. It also advocated 
the restriction of immigration. Mr. Cleveland was elected by a 
vote of two hundred and seventy-seven to one hundred and 
forty-five for Harrison. The People’s party showed consider- 
able strength by receiving a popular vote of over one million. 
Weaver obtained twenty-two electoral votes. 

Cleveland’s Second Administration, 1893-1897 

559 . The Panic of 1893. — Soon after the second inaugura- 
tion of President Cleveland the panic of 1893 set in. Business 
became dull, the revenues from the tariff duties decreased, and 
foreigners tried to sell their American securities. There was a 
depression in all lines of industry, and it was almost impossible 
to borrow money. Gold was being taken out of the country to 
pay foreign debts, and there was a general lack of confidence. 
Hundreds of banks failed, factories were shut down, and a “cur- 
rency famine” prevailed. The President immediately called a 
special session of Congress to deal with the money question. 

560 . The Money Question not New. — The money question 
was not a new one in 1893. At the beginning of our national 
existence Congress had exercised its power “ to coin money and 
to regulate the value thereof.” Until 1873 both gold and silver 
had been used as the standards of value and both were admitted 
to free coinage. Under free coinage any one may bring to 
the mint any amount of bullion which he may possess and 
have it coined into money. We now have free coinage of 
gold, but not of silver. 

Soon after 1873, when the silver dollar was dropped from 
the coinage, there was a complaint that there was not money 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


457 


enough to do the business of the country, and in 1878 an act 
was passed providing that the government should 

X 116 i\. Cl 

purchase each month not more than four million of 1878. 
dollars’ worth of silver bullion and not less than two dollar re- 
million dollars’ worth. The silver dollar was also re- 
stored to the list of coins, but silver was not admitted to free 
coinage, as before 1873. 

Still there was a demand for more silver money, and in 1890 
the '‘Sherman Act” was passed, which required the Secretary 
of the Treasury to purchase 4,500,000 ounces of silver 
each month, at a price not to exceed $i for 371.25 try demands 

r M 1 • 1 • . r -1 • more silver. 

grams ot pure silver, which is the amount of silver in The “Sher- 
the silver dollar. This act did not work well, and 
President Cleveland called a special session of Congress to re- 
peal it. The purchases of silver were stopped in November, 
1893. The money question was not settled, however, and be- 
came, as we shall soon see, the main issue of the campaign of 
1896. 


561. The Monroe Doctrine was asserted in regard to Venezuela 
in 1895 . — The Venezuelan affair of 1895 attracted consider- 
able attention both in Europe and the United States. There 
was a boundary dispute between Venezuela and British 
Guiana, and it seemed that Great Britain was obtaining terri- 
tory which did not rightfully belong to her. President Cleve- 
land objected, under authority of the Monroe Doctrine, and for 
a time war between the two countries was a possibility. A 
commission was appointed to determine the true boundary line, 
and the matter was peacefully settled by arbitration. It was a 
new application of the Monroe Doctrine. 

562. Immigration. — The subject of immigration has become 
an important one in recent years. The Chinese were senator 
excluded from the United States by a series of acts. Lodge 

^ made an 

and efforts have been made from time to time to keep attempt to 
out undesirable immigrants from other countries. Sen- immigra- 

tlOIX 

ator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts has made 
an effort to compel every immigrant to pass a simple examina- 


458 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


tion before being allowed to enter the country. He would give 
to each adult a card containing some sentence or clause from 
the Constitution of the United States, and he would not admit 
any one unable to read and to explain the part assigned to him. 

563 . Bryan and McKinley were the Opposing Candidates in 
1896. McKinley was chosen. — As the election of 1896 ap- 
proached, it became evident that the tariff question, which had 
been discussed so much of late, would not be the main issue. 
The money problem came to the front as the most important 
question of the campaign. The Democrats nominated William 
J. Bryan of Nebraska, and declared in favor of “the free and 
unlimited coinage of both gold and silver at the present legal 
ratio of sixteen to one.” The Republicans nominated William 
McKinley of Ohio, the author of the McKinley Tariff Act, and 
declared themselves opposed to the free coinage of silver, “ ex- 
cept by international agreement with the leading commercial 
nations of the world.” In the meantime they pledged them- 
selves to retain the present gold standard. The campaign was 
exciting, and the feeling was intense. Mr. Bryan possesses 
remarkable oratorical powers, and made the most of them 
during the canvass. He did not, however, receive the united 
support of his party. The influence of the Cleveland adminis- 
tration was clearly against him, and the Democrats who were 
opposed to the free coinage of silver nominated John M. Palmer 
of Illinois for the Presidency. Mr. McKinley was elected by a 
vote of two hundred and seventy-one to one hundred and seventy- 
six for Mr. Bryan. 


William McKinley, 1897-1901 

William McKinley was one of the best-known men in Ameri- 
can public life when he came to the Presidency in 1897. He 
had served four years in the Union army, fourteen years in the 
House of Representatives, and had been twice elected governor 
of Ohio. He had made the tariff a life study, and was the fore- 
most advocate of protection in the United States. 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


459 


The Spanish- American War, 1898 

564. The United States interferes in Behalf of the Cubans 
and brings on War with Spain. — In the early part of Presi- 
dent McKinley’s administration the United States became 
involved in a war with Spain. Cuba was a Spanish possession, 
but the inhabitants of the island were not contented under 
Spanish rule, and repeatedly rose in revolt. In 1895 they 
rebelled for the sixth time in fifty 
years, and set up a republican 
government. The Spaniards used 
cruel measures in an attempt to 
put down the rebellion, and the 
sympathy of the people of the 
United States was naturally en- 
listed in behalf of the Cubans. 

Many Americans were residing in 
Cuba, American capital was in- 
vested there, and our commerce 
with the island was large. Then, 
too, the Americans naturally sym- 
pathized with people who were 
struggling for freedom, and the 
barbarities of the Spanish army 

measure. 

Some wanted to buy the island, 
some to recognize the independence of Cuba, and others to 
interfere in behalf of the Cubans by force of arms. Nothing 
was done, however, and matters went from bad to worse. The 
summer of 1897 was a dreadful one in Cuba. The country was 
being devastated, and the people were dying of starvation, or 
being slaughtered by Spanish arms. Appeals to Spain on the 
part of the United States were of no avail. 

565. The Destruction of the Maine hastened the Coming of War. 
— In the early part of 1898 the United States sent the battle- 
ship Marne to Havana to protect American interests there. On 


shocked them beyond 



WiLLiAxM McKinley. 

Born in Ohio in 1843. He served with 
distinction in the Civil War, was chair- 
man of the Ways and Means Com- 
mittee in the House, governor of Ohio, 
and President of the United States. 
He was shot by an anarchist in 1901. 



460 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


461 


the night of February 15, the ship, while standing at anchor 
in the Havana harbor, was shattered by the explosion of a sub- 
marine mine. Two hundred and sixty American sailors were 
killed, and intense excitement prevailed throughout the United 
States. Spain was held responsible for the outrage, although 
it has never been proved that the destruction of the Marne was 
due to the Spanish government. The American consul-general, 
Fitzhugh Lee, was of the opinion that was the act of four or 
five subordinate [Spanish] officers.” It was plain that war was • 
unavoidable, and Congress voted fifty million dollars for national 
defense. 

666. Decisive Action taken, April 19. — Decisive action was 
taken by Congress on April 19, the anniversary of Lexington and 
Concord. A series of resolutions were passed declaring that the 
Cubans ought to be free and independent, and serving notice 
upon Spain to withdraw her troops from the island. The Presi- 
dent was also authorized to use the atniy and navy of the 
United States if necessary, to compel Spain to relinquish her 
authority over Cuba. Spain was given five days in which to 
make a satisfactory answer to the resolutions. Spain’s reply 
was to recall her minister from Washington and to dismiss the 
American minister at Madrid. This action was equivalent to 
a declaration of war, and the two nations cleared the decks for 
action. In the United States two hundred thousand volunteers 
were enlisted, and many more offered their services. 

567. Dewey destroyed the Spanish Fleet at Manila Bay, May 
I, 1898. — The American fleets moved at once. One went from 
Key West to blockade Havana and another, under the com- 
mand of Commodore George Dewey, sailed from Hongkong in 
search of the Spanish fleet. Dewey came upon the Spaniards 
in Manila Bay, and won a brilliant victory on May i, 1898. 
After a masterly fight of a few hours he destroyed the Spanish 
fleet without the loss of a man or a ship. 

568. Sampson and Schley destroyed Cervera’s Fleet at Santi- 
July 3> 1898. — Soon after Cuba became the center of 

interest, a Spanish fleet under Cervera entered the harbor of 


462 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Santiago de Cuba, and the port was blockaded by American 
squadrons under Commodores Sampson and Schley. The 
entrance to the port is narrow and crooked, and the Spanish 
ships within were entirely concealed from view. Mines and 
torpedoes also kept the American fleet at a respectful distance. 
Under these circumstances all that Sampson and Schley could 
do was to prevent Cervera from escaping from the port where 
he was ^‘bottled up.” 

In the meantime. General William R. Shafter had brought an 
army of eighteen thousand men to Cuba and had encamped 
near Santiago. After being defeated, it became evident to the 
Spaniards that Santiago would fall. Cervera sought safety by 
making a wild dash out of the harbor on the morning of July 3. 

The Americans gave chase with deadly fire, and in 
ShaUer^ four hours the Spanish fleet was utterly destroyed. 

Cervera and eighteen hundred men were taken pris- 
oners, while the Americans lost but one man and 
not a single vessel. About two weeks later Santiago, with 
over twenty thousand Spanish troops, surrendered to General 
Shafter. 

569. General Miles took Porto Rico. — A short time after. 
General Nelson A. Miles, the head of the United States army, 
took possession of Porto Rico. The inhabitants of the island 
were apparently glad to welcome the American army, and the 
Spanish soldiers offered almost no resistance. 

570. A Treaty of Peace was made December 10 , 1898 . — Beaten 
at all points, the Spaniards were ready to make peace. A peace 
agreement was made on August 12, but on the following day, 
before the news had reached the Philippines, Manila, with seven 
thousand soldiers, surrendered to Commodore Dewey and Gen- 
eral Merritt. 

The treaty of peace, which was signed on the loth of Decem- 
ber, 1898, provided that Spain should give up all claim to Cuba, 
and should cede Porto Rico, Guam (in the Ladrones), and the 
Philippine Islands to the United States. The United States 
agreed to pay twenty million dollars to Spain. The treaty was 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


463 


ratified by the Senate on February 6, 1899, and by Spain on 
March 19, and its terms were carried out in due time. 

571. The Filipinos under Aguinaldo rebel against the United 



States, but are defeated. — After the treaty was made it was 
found impossible for the United 
States to take peaceable posses- 
sion of the Philippines. When the 
Spanish-American War broke out, 
the natives of the islands, under the 
leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, 
were in revolt against Spain and 
were attempting to set up an in- 
dependent government. The Fili- 
pinos welcomed and aided the 
American troops, and although no 
promises had been made to them, 

Aguinaldo and his followers ex- 


pected that the islands would be 
given their independence at the 
close of the war. When the 
United States decided that it 
would not be wise to set up the 
Philippine Islands as an independ- 
ent republic, there was great dis- 
appointment among the leaders of 
the natives, and an insurrection 
followed. On February 4, 1899, 
Aguinaldo made an unsuccessful 
attack upon the Americans at Ma- 
nila. In the course of the year 
the Filipinos were repeatedly de- 


JoHN Hay. 

A distinguished statesman, diplomat, 
and man of letters; born in 1838. 
Was assistant secretary to President 
Lincoln, and served in the Civil War 
and as foreign minister. He made 
his greatest reputation as Secretary 
of State under Presidents McKinley 
and Roosevelt. While holding this 
office he insisted, in 1900, upon the 
“ open door ” policy in regard to 
China. This means that when the 
European powers wanted to divide 
up Chinese territory Mr. Hay in- 
sisted that it should not be done, 
and also that the commerce of China 
should be open to the world. He 
was joint author of Nicolay and 
Hay’s “ Life of Lincoln.” He died 
while Secretary of State, in 1905. 


feated and their forces broken up. In 1900 the American army 
was in possession of the seaports and all other important points 
in the islands. Only a few bands of guerrillas still held out 
against the authority of the United States. In March, 1901, 
Aguinaldo, the rebel leader, was captured by General Funston. 


464 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


572. Government established in the Philippines. — Preparations 
were made at once to give the islands an honest and stable 
government. In 1900 a temporary government was established 
under a commission appointed by the President, and on March 2, 
1901, he was authorized by Congress to establish a permanent 
form. This he did, and under the leadership of Judge William 
H. Taft, later Secretary of War, a form of government was put 
into effect for the islands as a whole and local governments were 
established wherever possible. 

573. Cuba and Porto Rico. — At the close of the Spanish 
War, Porto Rico also passed into the hands of the United 


Tf Z 

AguVclill 



Map of Porto Rico. 


Porto Rico is a mountainous tropical island about a thousand miles from the main- 
land of the United States. The island is unusually fertile. Principal crops are 
sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton, and maize. Lumbering is one of the large industries. 


States, and was organized as a dependency under a form of 
territorial government, which went into effect in May, 1900. 

Cuba was in a most deplorable condition at the close of the 
war, and United States officers remained in the island for a 
considerable time to restore law and order and pros- 
perity. The annexation of the island was not to be 
thought of, as Congress had declared before the war 
began that it was not the intention of the United 
States to take permanent possession of Cuba. Congress also 


The Cu- 
bans man- 
age their 
domestic 
affairs. 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


465 


expressed its intention to leave the government and control 
of the island to its people ” after it had been pacified. Steps 
were accordingly taken to turn over the island to its inhabitants. 
A constitutional convention met in, June, 1901, and established 
the Cuban Republic, of which General Palma was elected the 
first president. In May of the following year the 
troops of the United States were withdrawn and eign af- 

• fd.irs 3.T0 

the Cubans were left to work out their own destiny, managed at 
The United States still retains a general supervision 
over the foreign affairs of the island. 

574. The Hawaiian Islands were annexed as a Result of the 
Spanish War. — The annexation of the Hawaiian Islands may be 
looked upon as one result of the war with Spain. The inhabit- 
ants of the islands had been trying to bring about annexation 
for years but had not succeeded. When the Spanish- American 
War came on, however, and the United States acquired interests 
in the Pacific Ocean, we were very glad to take the islands. 
They were annexed by a joint resolution of Congress, passed 
July 7, 1898, and were organized as a territory on June 14, 1900. 

575. McKinley defeated Bryan for the Second Time, in 1900 . 
— Shortly after the settlement of the war questions, the time 
came for the nomination of candidates for the election of 19CO. 
The Spanish War had been brought to a successful close, and 
President McKinley had given the country an excellent admin- 
istration. He was an able and lovable man, and had endeared 
himself to the whole people. No one else was thought of for 
the Republican nomination. Mr. Bryan also was the idol of his 
party and was renominated. During the canvass the question 
of territorial expansion was discussed, and some attention was 
given to the money and tariff questions. The campaign was 
not so exciting as the one of 1896, and the result was the same. 
President McKinley was elected by a vote of two hundred and 
ninety-two to one hundred and fifty-five, and entered upon his 
second term under very favorable circumstances. Theodore 
Roosevelt of New York, a splendid type of vigorous young 
American manhood, was elected Vice President. 


466 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


McKinley and Roosevelt, 1901-1905 



576. President McKinley was assassinated in September, 1901. 

Just when the President’s career seemed brightest and most 

promising, he was stricken down 
by the hand of an assassin, on 
September 6, 1901, while attend- 
ing the Pan-American Exposition, 
at Buffalo. He died eight days 
later, and on Septem- 
ber 14 Theodore Roose- 
velt became President 
of the United States. 
President Roosevelt 
was known as a vigorous, honest, 
and high-minded man when he 
came to the Presidency in 1901. 
Theodore Roosevelt. 577. Work on the Isthmian Ca- 


Theodore 

Roosevelt 

became 

President, 

Sept. 14, 

1901. 


Born in New York in 1858. He grad- 
uated from Harvard, became a member 
of the New York legislature, a mem- 
ber of the Civil Service Commission, 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy ; was 
colonel of “The Rough Riders” in 
the war with Spain, and later became 
governor of the state of New York. 
He has written many books on Ameri- 
can history and outdoor life. Presi- 
dent of the United States, 1901 — . 


nal begun by the United States. — 

The beginning of the Panama 
Canal seems destined to be con- 
nected with the name of Roose- 
velt. It had been evident for 
centuries that a canal across the 
isthmus connecting Central and 
South America would be of great 


military and commercial value to the world and to the United 
States in particular. Attempts have been made from time to 
time to construct such a canal, but without success. Finally, in 
1898, when the battleship Oregori was compelled to 
make a voyage of fifteen thousand miles from San 
Francisco around Cape Horn, in order to join the 
American fleet in the West Indies, the people of the 
United States determined that the canal should be 
made. Two routes were considered, the Nicaraguan 


The need 
of an 
isthmian 
canal was 
emphasized 
by the voy- 
age of the 
Oregon. 


• and the Panama, and in June of 1902 Congress authorized the 


THE. UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


467 


President to construct the canal at Panama, in case he could 
secure the necessary ‘‘right of way.” He opened negotiations 
with the Colombian government, and succeeded in making a 
treaty for the strip of land. This treaty, however, Colombia 
refused to ratify, and an insurrection broke out on the isthmus. 



The West Indies, Panama, and the Canal Route. 

The completion of the Panama Canal will add a new interest to this part 
of the world. The “ Canal Zone,” or that part of the isthmus controlled 
by the United States, already presents a busy scene. Many of the 
workmen for the canal have been imported from the surrounding islands. 


The people of the locality set up the new Republic of Panama 
on September 3, 1903. Three days later this new Repub- 
republic was recognized by the United States, and in lie of Pan- 

^ o ^ ^ ama grants 

the P'ebruary following a treaty was made with Pan- the “right 
ama for the canal territory. After some delay the ° 
work was begun, and is now being carried on. 

578 . Roosevelt and Parker the Opposing Candidates in 1904. 
The Former was chosen by a Large Majority. — Mr. Roosevelt 


468 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


made a popular President, and was nominated by the Republi- 
can party without opposition in the summer of 1904. The 
Democrats nominated Judge Alton B. Parker of New York. 
Judge Parker, before his nomination, and while the convention 
was in session, declared himself in favor of the gold standard. 





The Culebra Cut. 


This is the deepest cut on the Panama Canal route and will be eight 
miles long and two hundred and eighty-six feet deep at its deepest point, 
if present plans are carried out. The excavation will be a difficult task. 


This act eliminated the money question from the issues of the 
campaign. Territorial expansion or “ imperialism,” the trusts, 
and the tariff were discussed, and Mr. Roosevelt was elected 
by a vote of three hundred and thirty-six to one hundred and 
forty. President Roosevelt’s plurality of the popular vote was 
more than 2,500,000. 







THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


469 


Industrial and Material Expansion : Conclusion 

. 579 . The American Frontier ” has vanished. — The history 
of the United States, from the colonial times to the present day, 
is a record of marvelous expansion and growth in every respect. 
Three hundred years ago sturdy emigrants from Europe began 
’ the industrial conquest of the territory now embraced in the 
United States, and the process is approaching completion in our 
own day. . At first a few settlements were made along the Atlan- 
tic coast; then the hardy pioneers crossed the Alleghany Moun- 
tains and peopled the magnificent valleys of the Ohio and the 
Mississippi ; from the Mississippi the stagecoach and the prairie 
schooner led the way over the Rocky Mountains to the Pa- 
cific slope. In the course of time, all of the fertile land in 
this vast area was taken up by settlers, until there remained in 
the public domain only the Great American Desert ” of the 
Southwest. Even this is now being reclaimed through irriga- 
tion by the government of the United States, and in a few years 
will be opened up for settlement. It was customary a short 
time ago to speak of the frontier settlements ” ; now there is 
no American frontier. 

The United States has increased from thirteen states, in 1776, 
to forty-five states and four territories, in 1900, not including 
Alaska, Porto Rico, the Philippines, or other outlying 
islands. In 1776 the area of the new states was about population. 
400,000 square miles, as against 3,747,000 square miles in 1906. 

The population of the United States, according to the census 
of 1790, was less than 4,000,000; in 1900 the population was 
76,000,000 ; or 84,000,000 if we include all the possessions of 
the United States. 

580 . The Growth of Cities has been Wonderful. — The growth 
of the cities has been marvelous. In 1800 there were only 
6 cities in the United States with populations of 8000 or more; 
in 1900 there were 555 such cities. In 1800 about four per 
cent of the people lived in cities, and in 1900 the cities con- 


470 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


tained one third of the entire population. New York is now 
second only to London in population, and Chicago, which a few 
decades ago was an obscure trading post, is now a thriving, 
bustling city of 2,000,000 people. The story of our increase in 
population is largely a story of the building of cities and of 
westward expansion. In 1790 about five per cent of the people 
lived west of the Appalachian Mountains; in 1900 about sixty 
per cent were in this region. In 1790 the center of population 
was thirty miles east of Baltimore ; now it is in the vicinity of 
Indianapolis. 

581 . Agriculture. — Although we have made wonderful ad- 
vances in manufacturing, agriculture still remains the chief 
industry of the United States. The figures compiled by the 
Department of Agriculture are simply astounding. For exam- 
ple, the average corn crop of the United States in recent years 
was 2,058,850,000 bushels, with a cash value of $585,000,000. 
In 1896 seven states — Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, 
Kansas, and Missouri — produced more than two thirds of this 
entire crop. The farm products of the United States are 
steadily increasing in value, not so much because of increased 
acreage of tillable land, but particularly because the farmers are 
advancing in a knowledge of scientific agriculture. Scientific 
methods have increased the quantity and improved the quality 
at the same time. 

Country life in the United States has also been improved. It 
is not so monotonous as it was once. Gravel roads, railroads. 
Conditions inter-urban lines, the telephone, and rural mail delivery 
Hfe^have^^ have given the farmer many of the advantages of the 
improved, without its disadvantages. 

582 . Manufacturing. — The American makes the fullest use 
of labor-saving machines. This fact has increased our manu- 
factured products enormously in recent years. We are sending 
machines and apparatus of various kinds not only to Africa, 
Asia, and South America, but also to the leading nations of 
Europe. American locomotives are running on English rail- 
roads. According to the last census there were $9,831,000,000 



Products of the United States. 

471 



472 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


invested in manufacturing establishments. These establish- 
ments gave employment to 5,315,000 persons and produced over 
$13,000,000,000 worth of goods. 

583. Machinery, the Railroads, the Telegraph, Inventions, and 
Industrial Development. — Machinery is now doing most of the 
work that human hands had done before. Among the improve- 
An eiectri- Hients exhibited for the first time at the Centennial 
cal age. Exhibition in 1876 were the electric light and the 
telephone. These are now in general use, but they were then 
new. They have brought the country into a new age of elec- 
tricity. Professor A. G. Bell of Boston invented the telephone, 
by means of which men may now talk with one another over long 
distances. 

The building up of the great mikvay systems of the United 
States has been one of the commercial wonders of the world. 

In 1840 there were not 3000 miles of railroads in 
railway the United States. Chicago could not be reached by 
systems. until 1851. By 1876 there were about 80,000 

miles of -railway in our country. We now have about 200,000 
miles of railroad as against 176,000 miles for all the countries 
of Europe combined. The railroads induced immigration from 
abroad, opened up the West, and provided transportation for 
Western products. The Central Pacific Railroad was completed 
in 1869. This great enterprise, begun in 1862, was promoted 
by the government by gifts of public lands. It furnished the 
passage long sought for between the Atlantic and the Pacific. 

The first electric telegraph was put into operation in 1844. 
This epoch-making event was due largely to the efforts of 
Samuel F. B. Morse, who, struggling against poverty, finally 
persuaded Congress to vote $30,000 for an experimental line 
from Baltimore to Washington. Now it seems that both tele- 
The tele- telephone are essential to modern civiliza- 

graph and 
the Atlantic 

cable. In 1866 the Atlantic cable was successfully laid, by 

which telegrams may be sent under the sea. Thus electricity 
connected PEirope and America, between Ireland and New- 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


473 


foundland. An unsuccessful attempt had been made at this in 
1857. Cyrus W. Field persisted and he was finally successful. 

The railroad and the telegraph added to the circulation of 
newspapers, periodicals, reviews, and magazines. The tele- 
graph doubled the newspaper circulation within six 
years. Great newspapers arose, with great editors newspapers 

3.ros0 

to reflect and enlighten public opinion, — like Horace 
Greeley of the New York Tribjuie^ James Gordon Bennett of 
the New York Herald, and Henry J. Raymond of the New 
York Times. Good reading was made cheaper and possible in 
almost every home. 

The modern reaper and threshing machines came into use a 
little over half a century ago. Cyrus H. McCormick had in- 
vented his reaper in the early thirties, but he was not 
able to bring his machines into use until after he had ^reshers^”^ 
put one on exhibition in the World’s Fair in London agrkuiture 
in 1851, and until he had shown ,what they could do on a large 
on our Western prairies. We cannot see how the 
crops of our great Western farms could now be gathered with 
only the old-fashioned sickle and scythe or without the steam 
thresher. 

In 1844 Goodyear made his process of making India rubber 
harder, more durable and elastic (called vulcanizing), ^ , 

^ ^ Goodyear 

and when we think of the rubber goods that this and rubber 

goods* 

made possible we are led to see how Goodyear’s in- 
vention was one of the most useful of the century. 

In 1846 Elias Howe brought out the first sewing machine, 
which has since been perfected by Wheeler, Wilson, Singer, 
and other inventors. By the same year it had been 

^ The sewing 

shown that a person might be made insensible to machine, 

pain by inhaling chloroform or ether (an anaesthetic) 
and thus the agony of surgery was relieved. The honor of this 
discovery has been claimed for a number of physicians : Dr. 
Morton of Massachusetts, Dr. Wells of Connecticut, and Dr. 
Long of Georgia. The first operation with the use of an anaes- 
thetic was reported by Dr. Long in 1842. 


474 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The last half of the nineteenth century was a period of great 
trade expansion. Great steamship lines multiplied trade with 
Trade ex- Europe and made travel abroad much easier. In 
promoted^ 1 854 Commodore Perry opened up trade relations 
by material with Japan. Silver was discovered in Nevada in 

discoveries. 

1859. l^he fifties coal oil, or petroleum, was dis- 
covered in Pennsylvania, to be followed later by great use of 
‘‘natural gas.’’ The decades from 1840 to i860 were marked 
by great prosperity that was hardly checked by the Mexican 
War, or by bitter sectional strife, or by the commercial panic of 
1857. Increased machinery caused large factories for manu- 
facturing purposes to take the place of the small shops, and 
this cheapened goods if it did not improve their quality. 

All these causes, cheaper goods, better transportation, better 
means of living, improvements in agriculture, cheap public 
, , lands, increase in the precious metals and in mining 

Wonderful . ^ 

growth of facilities, brought about a wonderful growth in the 

the ^^est. . 

West. Between 1840 and i860 the population of 
Illinois and Indiana was doubled, that of Wisconsin and Michi- 
gan more than quadrupled. The mining and grazing regions 
of the Rocky Mountain states were developed. Minnesota, 
Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska were settled and brought into the 
Union, and the western part of America became the great source 
of food products for Europe. 

At the close of the Civil War the area of the United States 
was 3,025,000 square miles. In 1867 Alaska was purchased for 
the sum of $7,200,000. Alaska contained 570,000 square miles. 
At that time it was thought to consist only of rocks and icebergs 
of no value ; but its fisheries and seals, and lately its gold from 
the Klondike, have brought in many times what was paid for it. 

584 . Education, Literature, and Art. — American progress, 
however, has not all been of a material kind. It is true that 
our forefathers were engaged, for the most part, in felling the 
forests and in breaking the soil, but they did not neglect educa- 
tional affairs. The people of Massachusetts made provisions 
for educational institutions “ while the tree stumps were as yet 


THE UNITED NATION, 1877-1906 


475 


scarcely weather-browned in their earliest fields.” From that 
time to this education has thrived in the United States. Com- 
mon schools and high schools are now within easy reach of 
almost every child, and colleges have increased in number and 
improved in quality of instruction. Circulating libraries and 
traveling libraries have been established in large numbers in 
all parts of the United States. 

In literature the volume of the product is all that could be 
desired, but the standard of excellence is not so high as in the 
days of Longfellow, Emerson, and Lowell. The writers of his- 
tory, however, have been fairly successful in maintaining the 
standard set by Parkman, Bancroft, Motley, and Prescott. The 
work of James Schouler, John B. McMaster, Henry Adams, 
Henry C. Lea, and James Ford Rhodes will compare favorably 
with that done in any country in recent years. 

Art and architecture are still in their infancy, although there 
is a profound interest in both, and splendid work is being done 
in some localities. The large cities are becoming art centers. 
The leisure and wealth of the country may be expected to 
stimulate artistic work in the near future. 

585. Problems still to be Met. — Although the people of the 
United States have been fairly successful in solving the prob- 
lems which have confronted them, the student should not think 
that the victory is complete and that nothing remains to be 
done. The problems of the twentieth century will be more 
numerous and no less perplexing than their predecessors. The 
United States — whether for good or for ill — is now a world 
power. We have interests in the Pacific and in China, and the 
President was instrumental in bringing about peace between 
Russia and Japan. We also have our domestic problems. 
The strife between labor and capital is intense ; the tariff and 
the money questions are not settled ; the liquor problem is not 
satisfactorily adjusted ; the trusts and railroads need attention ; 
and the century will develop scores of other questions not 
thought of now. In fact, history is being made in the United 
States to-day more rapidly than ever before. 


476 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


586. “ A Man is More than a City.’’ — It should be said, too, 
as a final word, that the most important of our products have 
not been material ones. America’s greatest triumph has not 
been in her agricultural and manufactured products but in her 
free institutions. The greatest contribution which the United 
States has made to the civilization of the world has been in the 
development of a republican or democratic form of government. 
Under our system of popular government, — the best system 
which man has yet devised, — our highest products are free, 
enlightened, and progressive American citizens. Our material 
prosperity is an item of no small account, but a man is more 
than a city ” and to develop men and women is the highest and 
noblest work of the State and Nation. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1877-1881. Hayes’s Administration. 

1879. Specie Payment Resumed. 

1881-1885. Garfield and Arthur’s Administration. 

1883. Pendleton Civil Service Act. 

1885-1889. Cleveland’s First Administration. 

1886. Presidential Succession Act. 

1887. Interstate Commerce Commission Organized. 

1888. Australian Ballot Introduced. 

1889-1893. Benjamin Harrison’s Administration. 

1890. McKinley Tariff Act. 

1894. Wilson Tariff Act. 

1897. Dingley Tariff Act. 

1893-1897. Cleveland’s Second Administration. 

1897-1901. McKinley’s Administration. 

1898. Spanish-American War. 

1898. Hawaiian Islands Annexed. 

1901-1905. McKinley and Roosevelt’s Administration. 

1902. Panama Canal Route Authorized. 

1905-. Roosevelt’s Administration. 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 


History 

1 . La Salle probably the First White Man in Indiana, 1669. — 

The territory comprising the present state of Indiana is located 
several hundred miles from the Atlantic coast, and more than 
a century and a half elapsed after the founding of Jamestown 
before a white man set foot upon its soil. La Salle, one of the 
heroes of New France, was, in so far as we can find out, the 
first white man to explore any part of what is now Indiana. In 
1669 he entered its territory, and in 1669-1670 he passed along 
the entire southern boundary, and probably crossed the north- 
west corner of the state in 1671 or 1672. He was in the terri- 
tory several times after this date, and probably on the Wabash 
River. In 1679 and 1680 his regular route of travel from 
Canada to Louisiana led him across Indiana by way of the 
Kankakee and St. Joseph rivers. The portage was made near 
the present site of South Bend. 

It is interesting to note the object which La Salle had in view 
in making his famous voyage in 1669. A French letter of No- 
vember II, 1669, states that '‘Messrs, de La Salle and Dolier, 
accompanied by twelve men, had set out with a design to go and 
explore a passage they expected to discover communicating 
with Japan and China.” It is needless to say that La Salle did 
not find Japan or China, but he did a much more valuable serv- 
ice in opening up the Mississippi valley to the white man for 
settlement. 

There is much doubt as to the details of the early exploration 
and settlement of Indiana, because a fire at Vincennes, the 
oldest permanent town in the state, on January 21, 1814, 
destroyed a large part of the early records. 

477 


478 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


2 . Early Settlements. — The first settlement within the bound- 


aries of the state of Indiana was made at Ouiatanon, on the 
Wabash River, about 1720. Ouiatanon was a trading post and 
fort, and was located on the north bank of the river, 


The first 
white set- 
tlement 
was made 
at Ouia- 
tanon, 
1720. 


about four miles west of where the city of La Fayette 
now stands. It contained a number of cabins inclosed 
in a stockade, and was once an important post, because 
the Wabash River was an important part of the route 
•between Canada and Louisiana. The post dis- 


appeared more than a century ago, and now nothing remains to 


mark its site except an occasional relic in stone or metal. 


Vincennes, named from its founder, was the second post in 


The sec- 
ond settle- 
ment and 
the first 
permanent 
one was 
made at 
Vincennes, 
1727. 


the state, and was established about 1727. It was at 
first a trading post, then a fort, and remains to-day 
one of the most interesting places in the West. It is 
the county seat of Knox county, and has a population 
of 10,249 people. 

Fort Miamis, near the present site of Fort Wayne, 
was probably the third white settlement made within 


the boundaries of the state. These posts in Indiana helped to 


Fort Mia- 
mis was 
the third 
settle- 
ment. 


connect the French in Canada with those in Louisi- 
ana. Vincennes was governed from Louisiana and 
Ouiatanon and Fort Miamis from Canada. The divid- 
ing line between the jurisdictions of Louisiana and 


Canada was a line running east and west through the present 


site of Terre Haute. 


These early posts did not grow rapidly. In 1769 Vincennes, 
when forty-two years old, had but sixty-six heads of families. 
, At Ouiatanon, a still older post, there were but twelve 

The early ; ^ ^ 

posts grew heads of families, and at Fort Miamis, only nine. 

At V'incennes agriculture was the principal occupation, 
while the inhabitants of the other two posts devoted themselves 
to fur trading exclusively. 

3 . The Wood Rangers explored the Mississippi Valley. — During 
these years white men were pushing their way into the most 
remote corners of the eastern Mississippi valley. These 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 479 


explorers were the famous wood rangers, or the coureurs de boisy 
as they were called by the French. ‘‘They were the most 
romantic and poetic characters ever known in American pioneer 
life. Their every movement attracts the rosiest coloring of 
imagination. We see them gliding along the streams in their 
long canoes, shapely and serviceable as any water craft that man 
has ever designed, and yet buoyant and fragile as the wind- 
whirled autumn leaf. We catch afar off the thrilling cadence 
of their choruses floating over prairie and marsh, echoing from 
forest and hill, startling the buffalo from his haunt in the reeds, 
telling the drowsy denizens of the posts of the approach of 
revelry, and whispering to the Indian village of gaudy fabrics, 
of trinkets, and of fire water. We feel the genial warmth of the 
camp fire that breaks the chill of the night wind, and dissipates 
the fog which rises from stream, bayou, and marsh, as the men 
gather about it and whiff the narcotic incense from their stumpy 
pipes ; or later on, when they bring forth the inevitable greasy 
pillows, roll in their grimy blankets, and speed away to dream- 
land. Another night they have reached the little post, and we 
are overwhelmed by the confusion of chattering, laughing, sing- 
ing, and bargaining ; we almost taste the fiery brandy that is 
rapidly preparing them for the wild whirl of the dance and the 
delirium of the debauch beyond.” ^ Thus did these hardy 
forest rangers penetrate the wilds of Indiana on their trading 
expeditions long before civilization had reached its borders. 
They lived and traded with the Indians, but had no thought 
apparently of agriculture or settlement. They suffered innu- 
merable hardships. A day’s rations at one time consisted of “ a 
quart of hulled corn and a pint of bear’s grease.” At a later 
time the rangers advanced to the greater luxury of pea or bean 
soup flavored with pork, and accompanied by a sea biscuit. 

4. Agriculture was in a Rude State. — After a time the early 
French settlers, especially about Vincennes, began to cultivate 
the soil. Their farming was of the rudest kind. Their plows 
were made entirely of wood with the exception of the points, 

1 Dunn’s “Indiana,” pp. 90-91. 


480 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


which were of iron. There were no traces or whiffletrees. 
Oxen were attached to the beam, not by a yoke about the neck, 
as is customary, but by means of a stick bound to the horns by 
thongs of rawhide. The oxen then drew the plow by pushing 
with their heads. 

5 . Treaty of 1763. — The Treaty of 1763 made a decided 
change in the Mississippi valley. By this treaty (see § 148) 
France ceded to Great Britain all of her possessions east of the 
Mississippi except a small tract where the city of New Orleans 
now stands. This transfer, however, made little difference in 
the daily life of the French frontiersman. He continued to 
occupy his posts and to trade with the Indians and, in some 
localities, to carry on agricultural pursuits in a simple way. 

6. George Rogers Clark saved the Northwest. — During the 
Revolutionary War thrilling scenes were enacted in what is now 
Indiana. The British were inciting the Indians to commit the 
most outrageous barbarities upon the white settlers, and George 
Rogers Clark, a natural leader of men, conceived a plan whereby 
he thought the practice could be stopped and the territory of the 
Northwest added to the new states in case they should gain their 
independence. Clark was a Virginian who had gone into the 
region now known as Kentucky. He was a man of marvelous 
will power and well versed in frontier life. He appeared before 
Governor Patrick Henry of Virginia and laid before him a plan 
for the conquest of the Northwest. His purpose was to capture 
the most important posts which had been used as the bases of 
supply by the British. Governor Henry approved the plan and 
Thomas Jefferson lent his assistance. In a short time Clark 
was ready to set out on his perilous expedition. 

He gathered together a few men on Corn Island in the Ohio 
River, near the present site of Louisville, and on June 24, 1778, 
this “ Hannibal of the West ’’ set out to wrest the Northwest from 
the control of the British. He had only one hundred and fifty- 
three men, but his stout heart availed much. On J uly 4 he captured 
Kaskaskia, and other posts fell soon after. A few men under 
the command of Captain Leonard Helm were sent by Clark to 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OE INDIANA 481 



Old French Mansion at Kaskaskia. 

The evidences of early French civilization in the Mississippi 
valley are rapidly disappearing. Some cities, like Vincennes, still 
retain a few interesting French landmarks, but these, for the most 
part, are going the way of the old French mansion at Kaskaskia. 

take possession of Vincennes. The British had sent no troops 
as yet to this important post, and Helm with his handful of 
men invested the place. On the 15th of December (1778), 
however, General Henry Hamilton, of the British army, with 
thirty regulars, fifty Canadians, and about four hundred Indians, 
appeared before Vincennes and demanded the surrender of the 
fort. Captain Helm, in command of one man, was in the fort 
when Hamilton appeared. Helm, however, was not in a submis- 
sive mood, and standing over a loaded cannon, with a burning 
match in his hand, he refused to surrender until he had been 
promised the “ honors of war.” This being done, Helm marched 
his force of one man out of the fort with due pomp and cere- 
mony. 

Clark determined to recapture the post, and set out for Vin- 
cennes with about one hundred and seventy men. He made 


482 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


the journey of about one hundred and seventy-five miles, 
across the present state of Illinois, in eighteen days. He 
and his men were compelled to undergo the greatest of hard- 
ships. There were no bridges and no roads worthy of the 
name, but the little band pressed on through forest, swamp, 
and river, in the midst of floating ice and pelting snow, an-d 
much of the time on starvation rations. Near the close of the 
journey a deer was shot and brought to camp, and was said to 
have “ saved the expedition.” When Clark and his men finally 
reached Fort Sackville, as the British had named the post, they 
were in a sorry plight and in no condition to assault a strong- 
hold. Yet Clark’s courage never faltered. He took Hamilton 
by surprise, and after a hard fight of a day and a night the post 

surrendered on February 25, 1779. Although some 
tured Vm- Clark’s men were not able to stand alone after 

cennes, dragging themselves repeatedly out of swamps and 

^ 779 * , 

rivers, they were very effective at Fort Sackville. 
They were the best marksmen in the world. As soon as the 
British opened a porthole to look out, the opening was filled 
with bullets from the rifles of the backwoodsmen. Dismay and 
surrender followed, and Fort Sackville became Fort Patrick 
Henry, by which name it was known for ten years. 

The fall of this post gave the Northwest Territory to the 
colonists, and when peace was made in 1783 it became a part of 
the United States. Clark’s expedition was thus one of the 
most important and successful ever undertaken in America. 

In return for this heroic service, Clark and his men were given 
a tract of about one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land on 
the Ohio River. This land is within the present counties of 
Jefferson, Clark, and Scott, and is still known as “ Clark’s 
Grant.” The grant, however, did not bring him happiness. 
The latter part of the life of the great soldier and adventurer 
was blighted by poverty, sickness, and intemperance, until 
death came to his relief in 1818. 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 483 


Government of Indiana Territory 

7 . Virginia ceded the Northwest Territory to the General Gov- 
ernment, 1784. — Having conquered the Northwest Territory, 
Virginia proceeded to take possession of it and to set up a form 
of government. Fort Patrick Henry (Vincennes) was made the 
seat of the government, and the territory was known as “ Illinois 
County.” Soon after, on March i, 1784, Virginia turned over 
its claim to the United States. The transfer was made by deed, 
and the territory is described as Territory Northwestward of 
the River Ohio.” Hence the Northwest Territory ” comprised 
the present states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wis- 
consin, and a small part of Minnesota. 

8. Ordinance of 1787. — In this same year, 1784, Congress 
framed a temporary government for the territory, and three 
years later a permanent one in the form of the Ordinance of 
1787 was established. This ordinance, which was a most 
enlightened document, encouraged religion, education, and 
morality, and prohibited the existence of slavery in the terri- 
tory. It also provided that the territory should, in due time, 
be cut up into five states ^ (§ 198). 

Marietta, Ohio, became the capital of the Northwest Terri- 
tory, and Major-General Arthur St. Clair was appointed gov- 
ernor in July, 1788. In 1790 Knox County, extending from the 
Ohio to the Great Lakes, and including nearly all of Indiana 
and a part of Illinois, was organized, with Vincennes as the 
county seat. 

9 . Northwest Territory was divided, 1800. Indiana Territory 
formed. — In 1800 Congress divided the Northwest Territory 
into two parts by a line running almost due north and south and 
near the boundary line between Indiana and Ohio. According 
to the act the dividing line ran from the mouth of the Kentucky 

^ The first plan for the government of the territory provided that the states be 
named as follows : Sylvania, Cherronesus, Michigania, Washington, Metropotamia, 
Assenisippia, Saratoga, Illinoia, Pelisipia, and Polypotamia. It seems fortunate now 
that these names were not adopted. 


484 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


River to Fort Recovery (east of Jay County, Indiana), and thence 
along a meridian passing from the mouth of the Great Miami 
to the northern boundary of the United States. The land east 
of this line still retained the name Northwest Territory,’* 

while that to the west 
was called ‘‘ Indiana 
Territory.” Vin- 
cennes was the capi- 
tal of Indiana Ter- 
ritory, and William 
Henry Harrison was 
the first territorial 
governor. The ex- 
ecutive journal begins 
as follows : “ St. Vin- 
cennes, July 4, 1800. 
This day the govern- 
ment of the Indiana 
Territory commenced, 
William Henry Har- 
rison hav- 
The his- . , 

tory of indi- mg been 

tory began appointed 

Governor, 
1800. ^ 

John Gib- 
son Secretary, Wil- 
liam Clarke, Henry 
Vanderburg & John 
Griffin Judges in and 
over said Territory.” 
There was no territorial Legislature for five years and the laws 
were made by the Governor and judges. General Harrison did 
not assume the duties of his office until January, 1801, and in 
the meantime John Gibson served as acting Governor. In fact, 
Gibson was the only active officer in the territory for six months 
after its organization. Harrison served as Governor until 1812. 



The Indiana Territory. 

Indiana Territory was reduced in 1805 and again 
in 1809. After the second reduction its bound- 
aries were nearly the same as the present state 
boundaries. For the details see the opposite page. 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 485 


10 . Population. — The population of Indiana Territory in 
1800 was 5641. Vincennes had a population of 714, and there 
were 819 people in the vicinity of that place. There were 
about 2500 persons in what is now the state of Indiana. 

11 . First Legislature, 1805. — Indiana’s first territorial Legis- 
lature met at Vincennes in 1805, and proceeded to enact laws. 
It was not long, however, before the boundaries of Indiana 
Territory were greatly reduced. 

12 . Territory of Michigan was set off, 1805. — The population 
of the new West was increasing, and in 1805 another division of 
territory seemed advisable. In that year Congress set off 
Michigan (formerly known as Wayne County) as a separate 
territory. It was provided that the territory of Michigan 
should embrace that part of Indiana Territory lying north of 
a line drawn due east from the southern extremity of Lake 
Michigan and intersecting Lake Erie. The western boundary 
was a line drawn from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, 
through the middle of the lake to its northern end, and thence 
due north to the northern boundary of the United States. The 
territory of Michigan thus contained a small part of the land 
now included in Ohio and Indiana. 

13 . Illinois Territory set off, 1809. — In 1809 Indiana Terri- 
tory was still further reduced. All of the land west of the pres- 
ent western boundary of Indiana was set off by act of Congress, 
and called ‘‘ Illinois Territory.” 

By 1809, then, Indiana was reduced to about its present 
boundaries. When the territory was admitted as a state in 1816, 
its northern boundary was pushed ten miles to the north into 
Michigan. Otherwise the boundaries remained the same. It is 
probable, however, that in 1809 Congress intended to have the 
boundary line between Indiana and Illinois extend due north 
from Vincennes to Lake Michigan. This line now stops at its 
intersection with the Wabash River in Vigo County, thus giving 
Indiana a small strip of land which would otherwise be a part 
of Illinois. 

In 1809, then, Indiana started out upon her individual career. 


486 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Her area was practically what it is to-day. The Indians, how- 
ever, still had possession of about two thirds of the land. 
Agriculture was the principal occupation of the whites, although 
some manufacturing was being carried on. In i8io Indiana 
had 33 grist mills, 14 saw mills, 18 tanneries, 28 distilleries, 3 
powder mills, 1256 looms, and 1356 spinning wheels. The value 
of the manufactured articles for 1810 is estimated at $ 200 , 000 . 



The Old State House at Corydon. 


This building was the Capitol of Indiana from 1813 to 1825. It was 
built of limestone from the adjacent bluffs and is a solid structure to- 
day. The walls of tlie first story are two and a half feet in thickness. 
The building is forty feet square. It is now the Court House of Har- 
rison County. This picture was made from a recent photograph. 


The surplus products of the country were sent down the 
rivers in flatboats and barges to New Orleans. The steamboat 
had not yet appeared. The first steamer to run on the Ohio 
River was built at Pittsburg in i8ii by Nicholas J. Roosevelt. 
She made the trip from Pittsburg to New Orleans in fourteen 
days. In 1823 the first steamboat appeared on the Wabash 
River. 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OE INDIANA 487 


14 . Capital removed from Vincennes to Corydon in 1813. — 

Vincennes continued to be the capital of Indiana Territory until 
1813. At that time the seat of the government was removed to 
Corydon, the present county seat of Harrison county. The State 
House, which was erected at this time, still stands and is now the 
County Court House. 















The Constitutional Elm. 

A large part of the work of the constitutional convention which drafted the 
Indiana constitution of 1816 was done in the shade of a spreading elm which 
still stands at Corydon. The above picture was from a recent photograph. 

15 . Battle of Tippecanoe. — When the Legislature of the terri- 
tory met at Corydon for the first time, the War of 1812 was 
going on. 

The Indians were greatly interested in the difficulty between 
Great Britain and the United States, and thought the time 
a favorable one to expel the whites from all parts of the Indiana 
Territory except the southern. A conspiracy was formed for 
that purpose. Fortunately for the people of the territory. Gen- 
eral William Henry Harrison was the Governor. He imme- 
diately started against the Indians on the upper Wabash. He 




488 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


rison de- 
feated the 
Indians at 
Battle 
Ground, 
Nov. 7, 

i8ii. 


encamped seven miles north of La Fayette, where the village of 
Battle Ground now stands, and placed his nine hundred men 
on an elevated spot of land on the bank of what is 
Henry^Har- Bumett’s Creek. On the early morning of 

November 7, 1811, he was surprised by the Indians, 
who made a sudden and savage attack upon his men- 
and shot them down by the light of their own camp 
fires. Harrison’s forces rallied, however, and soon 
put the redskins to rout. The battle was decisive. 
It crushed the power of the Indians in Indiana, and helped the 
Americans in the War of 1812. Thirty-seven of Harrison’s men 

were killed and twenty- 
five afterward died of 
their wounds. One hun- 
dred and twenty-six 
others were less seriously 
wounded. Thirty - eight 
Indians were left dead 
upon the field. The num- 
ber of the savages en- 
gaged in the battle will 
never be known. It has 
been estimated at from 
three hundred and fifty 
to one thousand. 

A clause in the present constitution of Indiana provides that 
‘‘ it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide for 
the permanent inclosure and preservation of the Tippecanoe 
Battle Ground.” The scene of the battle is now inclosed by 
a high iron fence. The grounds are well kept and are open to 
the public at all times. 

16 . Indiana was admitted to the Union in 1816. — Soon after 
the removal of the seat of government to Corydon, the people 
of Indiana began to think seriously of statehood. A census 
was taken by order of the Legislature, and it was found that 
there were 63,897 people in the thirteen counties of the terri- 



Tippecanoe Battlefield. 

Harrison defeated the Indians here on Novem- 
ber 7, 1811. An attempt is being made to secure 
funds for the erection of a suitable monument. 



INDIANA 

SCALE OF MILES 

10 5 0 10 20 30 


L.L.POATES ENGR'S CO., N.r. 


67 ° Longitude West from 80 ' Greenwich 


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HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OE INDIANA 489 


tory. On December 14, 1815, the Legislature petitioned Con- 
gress to admit Indiana as a state. Congress responded 
promptly, and an Enabling Act was passed on April 19, 1816. 
This act provided for an election in May, 1816. At . this 
election delegates were chosen who met at Corydon on June 10 
and framed the constitution of 1816. The weather was very 
warm and much of the work of the convention was done in the 
shade of a spreading elm which stood near by. This ‘‘ consti- 
tutional elm ” is still standing, and is one of the most interesting 
landmarks in the state. The convention finished its work in 
eighteen days, and in August following an election was held for 
state officers and members of the General Assembly. Jonathan 
Jennings was elected Governor, and the General Assembly met 
in November of 1816. James Noble and Wallace Taylor were 
then chosen the first United States Senators, and on Decem- 
ber II, 1816, the state of Indiana ^^as formally admitted into 
the Union by a resolution of Congress. 

17 . Slavery in Indiana. — The most important topic for dis- 
cussion in those days in Indiana was the slavery question. Not- 
withstanding the fact that slavery had been prohibited in the 
Northwest Territory by the Ordinance of 1787, many people 
still continued to hold slaves. The Ordinance did not free those 
already in slavery and was not looked upon as retroactive. In 
1800 there were, according to the census, one hundred and 
seventy-five slaves in Indiana. In 1820 there were one hundred 
and ninety, and in 1840 there were only three. 

When Indiana was about to be made a state, the people be- 
came greatly excited over the slavery question. It was the one 
grea issue of the time. After an exciting campaign the anti- 
slavery forces were victorious. They had a majority in the 
election of May, 1816, and the constitutional convention put 
a clause against slavery in the new constitution. When it was 
finally decided tnat slavery should be prohibited in the new 

m 

state, there was great rejoicing, and the word went from 
mouth to mouth, ‘‘.She has come in free! ’’ “She has come in 
free ! ” 


490 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


18 . Capital removed from Corydon to Indianapolis, 1825. — 

After Indiana became a state, the capital still remained at Cory- 
don, but preparations were soon made to remove it to a more 
central location. By an act of 1816 Congress appropriated 
four sections (2560 acres) of land for a new capital. In 1820 
commissioners were appointed to select the location, and they 
chose four sections where-the city of Indianapolis now stands. 
At that time Connersville, sixty miles away, was the white 
settlement nearest to the site of the future capital. In 1825 
the seat of government was removed for the last time, and some 
of the officers occupied a Court House built at Indianapolis by 
the state. The General Assemb^, or Legislature, met in this 
building for ten years. 1835 brick State House was 

built on the site of the present Ca'pitol at a cost of $60,000. It 
was the finest building in the West, ^jid was used for about 
forty years. For ten yeaj^s, from i877«to 1887, the General 
Assembly met in the Indianapolis Court House, the old Capitol 
being deemed unsafe, hk 1887 the tpi^ent State House was 
finished and occupied, ^en years were required to build it, 
and the cost was $1,980,969. It occupies two squares and 
furnishes official homes for^the state officers, the Senate, the 
House of Representatives, the Supremefand Appellate Courts, 
the State Library, and other organizations of the state. 

19 . Early Churches. — The French Je^iits brought their reli- 
gious services wherever they went. The mass was said in the 
open forest and in the wigwam for decades before a house of 
worship was constructed. The first church of which we have 
record in Indiana is a Roman Catholic chapel in Vincennes. 
The records of this church go back to April 21, 1749, and for 
half a century this rude log structure was the only church in 
the territory. 

The second church in Indiana was probably the log church 
built by the Methodists in 1802, and still standing, about two 
miles from Charlestown. In 1804 a Baptist church was built 
on Silver Creek near Charlestown, and in 1815 a Presbyterian 
ehurch was erected near Vincennes. 



The Indiana State Capitol Building at Indianapolis. 

Ihe Indiana Capitol is located on Washington Street and occupies nearly ten acres of land. It is 496 feet long, 285 feet wide, 
and the top of the dome is 234 feet high. The legislative halls and the offices of the state officials are in this building. 






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HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 491 


20. Roads and Canals. — Transportation facilities in the new 
state were not good. The rivers and rude roads cut through 
the forests were the highways over which the pioneer, had to 


travel. Later, the national 
government gave its assist- 
ance by building the ‘‘ national 
road ” from the seacoast to 
the Mississippi valley. It was 
an excellent highway. Start- 
ing from Baltimore, after 
passing through Cumberland 
(Maryland) and Columbus 
(Ohio), it came to Richmond, 
Greenfield, I ndianapolis, 

Greencastle, and Terre Haute. 
The road was laid out to St. 
Louis, but was never finished. 
In fact, a part of the road in 
western Indiana was never 
completed. The road passed 
along Washington Street, In- 
dianapolis, by the Capitol, and 
over the White River by means 
of a bridge which stood until 
a year or two ago. The abut- 
ments of this bridge are still 
in place and its location may 
be easily seen. 

The Michigan Road was 
built by the state of Indiana. 

It, too, was a wag- Michigan 
on road. It began 
at Madison, on the Ohio 
River, and passed through 
Indianapolis and Logansport 
road was made of plank and 



Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument at 
Indianapolis. 

The state of Indiana built this monument 
in memory of the Indiana men who fought 
in the army and navy in the wars of the 
nation from the Revolutionary and Indian 
wars to the War for the Union. The mon- 
ument was built in ten years, being com- 
■ pleted in 1897. Es entire height is 284 
feet and six inches above the level of 
the street, and the shaft is surmounted 
by a bronze statue of “ Victory,” which 
is 38 feet high. Its foundation covers 
3657 square feet, and is 30 feet deep. 
Two stone groups of- statuary represent 
“ Peace ” and War,” and the bronze orna- 
ments on the shaft symbolize the Army and 
the Navy. The inscription upon the mon- 
ument is: “To Indiana’s Silent Victors.” 

to Michigan City. Part of the 
the whole was very expensive. 



492 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The United States government appropriated one hundred and 
seventy thousand acres of land to assist in the project. 

21 . Wabash and Erie Canal. — The new state was also enter- 
prising in canal building. The completion of the Erie Canal in 
1825 stimulated internal improvements everywhere, and that year 
Governor Ray of Indiana advocated in his message “the con- 
struction of roads and canals ... as the safest and most certain 
state policy.” Two years later the national government gave to 
Indiana a grant of land to be used in the construction of a canal 
from Lake Erie to the Wabash River. A part of this land was 
given over to Ohio with the understanding that that state should 
build the canal from Lake Erie to the western boundary of 
Indiana. It was planned to carry the canal from this line to 
some point on the Wabash, below which the river was navigable. 
The work began in 1832, and the Wabash and Erie Canal was 
constructed from the Ohio line to southern Indiana, by way of 
La Fayette. It was for many years an important highway of 
commerce. It has long since been abandoned, however, and 
inter-urban cars and the trains of the Wabash Railway are run- 
ning along its former course. 

It does not seem necessary to review the more recent history 
of the state, as the history of Indiana since 1816 has been 
merged into the history of the United States. 


State Government : the Constitution 

22 . History of the Constitution. — The first constitution of 
the state of Indiana, framed under the old elm at Corydon, re- 
mained in force until 1851. The present constitution went 
into effect on November i of that year. It was framed by a 
convention of delegates, and was later approved or adopted 
by the people. An analysis of this constitution will be of in- 
terest. 

23 . The Bill of Rights. — After the preamble of the constitu- 
tion there follows a “ Bill of Rights ” of thirty-seven sections. 
In this bill certain rights and liberties are guaranteed to the 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OE INDIANA 


493 


people of the state. Religious freedom is secured, and it is pro- 
vided that no religious test shall be required as a _ . . 

^ ^ , Religious 

qualification for an office of trust or profit.’ All freedom 

,. . 1 11 .1 guaranteed. 

religious denominations are placed upon the same 
footing, and ‘‘ no money shall be drawn from the treasury for 
the benefit of any religious or theological institution.” 

Freedom of speech is also guaranteed, but for the Freedom 
abuse of this right a person is held responsible. is guaran- 

The American people had had trouble over the 
Writs of Assistance in revolutionary times, hence unreason- 
able search or seizure ” was declared unlawful. 

''All courts shall be open; . . . justice shall be administered 
freely and without purchase ; completely, and without denial ; 
speedily, and without delay.” Provisions were also made to 
give a person accused of crime a fair and speedy trial, and the 
last section of the bill prohibited slavery and " involuntary 
servitude.” 

24. Legislative Department. — The powers of the government 
are divided, as is customary, among the three great departments, 
the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial. 

The legislative power of the state is vested in a " General 
Assembly,” which consists of a Senate and a House of ‘Repre- 
sentatives. 

The Senate now consists of fifty members, and according to 
the constitution the number cannot exceed fifty. They are 
elected for terms of four years, and one half of them 
go out of office every two years. In like manner the 
House of Representatives consists of one hundred fifty mem- 

. bers and 

members. Both senators and representatives are the House 
chosen by the qualified male voters of the state. The dred.^'^^ 
representatives hold office for two years. " Sen- 
ators shall be at least twenty-five, and representatives at least 
twenty-one years of age.” 

Members of the General Assembly are granted the customary 
" freedom of speech ” and " freedom from arrest.” 

The General Assembly meets once in two years at the capital 


494 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Revenue 
bills must 
originate 
in House 
of Repre- 
sentatives. 


of the State, and the sessions begin “ on the Thursday next after 
the first Monday in January.” Special or extra sessions may 
be called by the Governor. 

Two thirds of the members of each house constitute a quorum 
for the transaction of business. 

Either house may punish its members for disorderly be-, 
havior, and may, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a 
member; but not a second time for the same cause.” 

• A bill in order to become a law must be passed by the two 
houses and signed by the Governor. Bills may 
originate in either house, but may be amended or 
rejected in the other, except that bills for raising 
revenue shall originate in the House of Representa- 
tives.” 

An act of the General Assembly must be confined to 07ie 
subject, and that subject must be expressed in the title of the 
act. It is also provided that the wording of every act shall be 
plain, and that '' the use of technical terms ” shall be avoided as 
far as practicable. 

A majority of all the members elected to each house is nec- 
essary for the passage of a bill, and when a bill is so 
passed it is signed by the Lieutenant-Governor, who 
is the presiding officer of the Senate, and by the 
Speaker, who presides over the House. It then 
goes to the Governor for his approval. 

As soon as the laws are printed and distributed to 
the various counties, they are declared by the Governor to be in 
force. In case of emergency, the General Assembly may put 
a law into effect immediately after its passage. 

A regular session of the General Assembly is limited to sixty- 
one days (including Sundays) and a special session to forty 
days. 

25. Executive Department. — The executive power is vested 
The Gov- Governor. He is elected by the people, holds 

cWe/e^Lcu- office for a term of four years, and is not eligible 
tive officer. ‘‘ more than for four years in any period of eight 


A major- 
ity of the 
members is 
essential to 
the pas- 
sage of a 
bill. 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 495 


years/’ This means that he cannot be reelected until after some 
one else has served for a term. He must be at least thirty 


years of age. His term begins 
on the second Monday in Janu- 
ary. 

In the case of death, resigna- 
tion, or other disability of the Gov- 
ernor, the Lieutenant-Governor 
takes his place. 

The Governor is the command- 
er-in-chief of the state troops, and 
may use such troops to execute 
the laws, or to suppress insurrec- 
tion. 

The Governor may veto bills, 
but such bills may be passed over 
his veto by a majority ^ 

^ Governor 

of all of the members may veto 

elected to each house. 

The Governor receives a com- 
pensation for his services, which 
compensation may not be in- 
creased or diminished during his 
term of office. 



Oliver Perry Morton. 


Lawyer, judge, and statesman. Born 
in 1823, he became a prominent 
leader in Indiana and in the nation. 
He was a strong supporter of the 
Union and made many eloquent 
speeches in its behalf. He became 
Governor in i860, and was fore- 
most among the vigorous “ War Gov- 
ernors.” He displayed great energy 
in raising and equipping troops. 
He was a United States Sen- 
ator for ten years and died in 1877. 


Provision is also made in the constitution for state, county, 
and township officers. 

26. Judicial Department. — The judicial power of the state is 
vested “in a Supreme Court, in Circuit Courts, and in such 
other courts as the General Assembly may establish.” The 
Supreme Court must consist of not less than three judges and 
not more than five. They hold their office for six years, “ if 
they so long behave well.” 

The Circuit Court consists of one judge with civil and crimi- 
nal jurisdiction. The judge is elected for a term of six years. 

The Supreme and Circuit judges receive compensations, which 
cannot be diminished while they continue in office. 



496 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


In Indiana there is no examination for admission to the bar. 
‘‘ Every person of good moral character, being a voter, shall be 
entitled to admission to practice law in all courts of justice.” 

27. Miscellaneous Provisions. — Education has always been 
encouraged in Indiana. The present constitution makes it the 
duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all suitable' 
means, moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improve- 
ment, and to provide by law for a general and uniform system 
of common schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and 
Educa- equally open to all.” There is also a State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, who holds office for 
two years, and who has general supervision of the educational 
interests of the state. The State Normal School, at Terre 
Haute, the State University at Bloomington, and Purdue Uni- 
versity at La Fayette were founded by the state, and are sup- 
ported by the state for the most part. 

The constitution also makes it the duty of the General Assem- 
bly to care for the education of the deaf, dumb, and blind, and 
for the treatment of the insane. The reformation of young 
criminals is provided for, and it is expressly stated in the Bill 
of Rights that the penal code shall be founded on the princi- 
ples of reformation and not of vindictive justice.” County poor 
asylums are also provided for. 

The militia of the state consists of all able-bodied male citi- 
zens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. ‘‘No person 
conscientiously opposed to bearing arms shall be 
compelled to do militia duty ; but such person shall 
pay an equivalent for exemption.” Only a small part of the 
above, of course, are in active militia companies. 

The boundaries of the state as they were prescribed by act 
of Congress are also set forth in the constitution. The state is 
bounded on the east by the meridian line which forms 
the western boundary of Ohio ; on the south by the 
Ohio River, from the mouth of the Great Miami to the mouth 
of the Wabash ; on the west by a line along the middle 
of the Wabash River from its mouth to a point where a due 


Militia. 


Bounda- 

ries. 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OE INDIANA 497 


north line, drawn from Vincennes, would last touch the north- 

% 

western shore of the Wabash River, and thence by a due north 
line, “ until the same shall intersect an east and west line drawn 
through a point ten miles north of the southern extreme of 
Lake Michigan ; and on the north by said east and west line,” 
until it meets the western boundary of Ohio. 

It is declared that the state of Indiana has ‘‘concurrent juris- 
diction, in civil and criminal cases, with the state of Kentucky 
on the Ohio River, and with the state of Illinois on the Wabash 
River, so far as said rivers form the common boundary between 
this state and said states respectively.” 

It is provided that “no county shall be reduced to an area 
less than four hundred square miles ; nor shall any county 
under this area be further reduced.” 

28. Some State Officers. — The constitution makes it the duty 
of the Governor to see that the laws of the state are faithfully 
enforced. There are several other important officers, 

X XU G 

however, who assist in the carrying out of the laws, tary of 

. State. 

One of these is the Secretary of State. He is the 
keeper of the official records, such as the laws and resolutions 
passed by the General Assembly and the constitution of the 
state. He signs many papers as a witness, and attaches to them 
the great seal of state. Without this seal most official docu- 
ments would be void. 

The Auditor is the state’s bookkeeper. He keeps an account 
of all the money received and paid out by the state. No money 
can be paid out of the treasury except by the order Audi- 
of the Auditor. He has general supervision of state tor is the 
banks and of all insurance companies doing business book- 
in the state. The duties of his office are exceedingly 
important and his records are voluminous. 

The Treasurer has charge of all the funds of the state. He 
receives money from many sources and pays it out upon order 
or “ warrant ” of the Auditor made in accordance xhe Treas- 
with law. He must also have an order from the charge^of 
Auditor before receiving money. There are vaults state funds. 


498 AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


The At- 
torney- 


in the State House for the safe keeping of the moneys of the 
state. 

The Attorney-General is the state’s lawyer. It is his duty 
to give legal advice to the Governor and other state officers 
upon request. He must also, when asked to do so, 
^ ^ . give the Senate or House of Representatives an 

the state’s opinion upon the constitutionality of an existing or 
lawyer. proposed law. He brings suits in behalf of the state, 
and in some cases, defends the state in suits. He also collects 
money due the state. 

Every four years the state elects a man skilled in geology 
and natural science.” This officer is the State Geologist. His 
state time is occupied for the most part with a geological 

Geologist, survey of the state. He gives particular attention to 

the discovery of the minerals, rocks, and other natural resources 
of the state. He also has charge of a museum in the State 
House. 

It is the duty of the State Statistician to collect and to publish 
statistics relating to the agriculture, manufacturing, commerce, 
and education of the state as well as to supply infor- 

the Bureau i^^tion on Several other subjects. There is no end to 
ofstatis- work which he may do, and he often takes up 

some particular subject for the work of a year. 

The State Librarian has charge of the general library of 
the state, which is located in the Capitol building. The 
The State Librarian performs a valuable service in collecting 
Librarian, manuscripts, pamphlets, and other historical material 
relating to the history of Indiana and the Northwest. 

The charitable and correctional interests of the state are 
under the supervision of the Board of State Charities, of which 
the Secretary is the active officer. The Secretary has 
Charities^ an office in the State House and exercises a general 
r?ction?^~ Supervision over the jails, reformatories, poor asylums, 
and other charitable and correctional institutions of 

the state. 

There are now thirteen such institutions supported by the 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 


499 


state, as follows : Central Hospital for Insane, at Indianapolis ; 
Northern Hospital for Insane, at Logansport ; Eastern Hospi- 
tal for Insane, at Richmond ; Southern Hospital for institu- 
Insane, at Evansville; State Soldiers’ Home, at 
La Fayette; Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home at Knights- 
town ; Institution for the Deaf, at Indianapolis; Institution 
for the Blind, at Indianapolis; School for Feeble-minded Youth, 
at Fort Wayne ; State Prison, at Michigan City ; Reformatory, 
at Jeffersonville; Industrial School for Girls, and Woman’s 
Prison, at Indianapolis ; and the Indiana Boys’ School, at Plain- 
field. The Legislature of 1903 made an appropriation for the 
establishment of a new Industrial School for Girls, and a site for 
the institution has been purchased a short distance from Indian- 
apolis. This will separate the Industrial School from the 
Woman’s Prison. The Legislature of 1905 made provisions for 
a Village for Epileptics, and Newcastle has been determined 
upon as the location of the institution. Provision has also been 
made for a Southeastern Hospital for the Insane to be located 
at Madison. 

The running expenses of the above state institutions for the 
year ending October 31, 1903, amounted to $1,425,752.69. In 
addition to this vast sum, the townships and counties also spend 
large amounts for the same general purpose. The expenditures 
for public charities and corrections in Indiana now amount to 
about $2,750,000 per year. A few years ago this expendi- 
ture was more than $3,000,000. In recent years the money has 
been expended more wisely. The ‘‘new charity” helps a man 
to help himself. 

29 . Counties and County Officers. — Local government is well 
developed in the United States. In addition to the state officers 
we also have county, township, and city officers. The state of 
Indiana is divided into ninety-two counties. The oldest of these 
is Knox, and the newest is Newton, which was organized in 
1859. .A Board of County Commissioners consisting of three 
men has charge of the general affairs of each county. The 
County Auditor is the clerk of the board. 


500 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


Clerk. 


Treasurer. 


Recorder. 


The County Auditor is the bookkeeper for the county. He 
County keeper of the seal of the county, and no 

Auditor. money can be paid out of the treasury except on his 
order or warrant. 

The Clerk of the Circuit Court, or the ‘‘ County Clerk,” as he 
is frequently called, attends the sessions of the Circuit 
and Superior courts of the county and keeps the 
official records of their proceedings. He also issues marriage 
licenses and keeps election returns. 

The County Treasurer receives money due the county and 
pays it out upon order of the Auditor. His most im- 
portant duty is to collect the taxes assessed in the 
county. He turns over a part of the money thus collected to 
the Treasurer of State. 

The County Recorder makes a record of deeds, mortgages, 
and some other important county documents. These 
documents are copied in books which are provided 
for the purpose and which are open to public inspection. They 
show to whom the land of the county belongs. 

The Sheriff is the peace officer of the county. He has 
charge of the prisoners and the county jail, and attends 
the county courts to keep order. He summons 
witnesses and has charge of the jury. He is the chief executive 
officer of the county and executes the orders of the courts. 

The County Coroner holds an inquest or inquiry over the 
body of a person supposed to have been killed by 
violence or accident. If he finds that a crime has 
been committed, he issues a warrant for the arrest of the sup- 
posed criminal. 

The County Surveyor surveys the lands of the county, when 
requested to do so, finds lines of division, and locates 
corners. A permanent record is made of the surveys. 

30. The Township. — Each county is subdivided into town- 
ships. There are ioi6 townships in the state of Indiana. The 
most important officer is the Trustee. He receives all money 
due to the township and pays it out according to law. He is 


Sheriff. 


Coroner. 


Surveyor. 


HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 501 


the manager of all property belonging to the township, and has 
charge of the poor, the highways, and the schools. 

31 . Towns and Cities. — The towns and cities of Indiana with 
the exception of those having special charters are governed 
under a special act of the General Assembly passed in 1905. 
This act, entitled ‘‘An Act concerning Municipal Corporations,” 
is voluminous and complicated. It may be found in the “ Acts,” 
1905, pp. 217-410. 

FACTS AND DATES 

1669. La Salle entered Indiana. 

1720. First Settlement in Indiana (Ouiatanon). 

1727. Second Settlement (first permanent one), Vincennes. 

1779. George Rogers Clark took Vincennes. 

1790. Knox County organized. 

1800. Indiana Territory organized. 

1805. First Territorial Legislature met. 

1805. Michigan set off from Indiana Territory. 

1809. Illinois set off from Indiana Territory. 

1811. Battle of Tippecanoe. 

1800-1813. Vincennes the Capital. 

1813-1825. Corydon the Capital. 

1825-. Indianapolis the Capital. 

1816. Indiana admitted as a State. 


REFERENCES 

Thornton, “ The Government of Indiana.” Rawles, “ Civil Government of 
Indiana.” Dunn, “Indiana.” Kemp, “Government of Indiana.” Smith, 
“ History of Indiana.” Dillon, “ History of Indiana.” Cooley, “ Michigan.” 
King, “ Ohio.” Thwaites, “ How George Rogers Clark won the Northwest,” 
3-72 (Clark); 75-1 ii (Division of Northwest). Maurice Thompson, 
“ Stories of Indiana,” 55-67 (Tecumseh and Tippecanoe); 95-104 (Flatboat 
Days) ; 228-246 (Birth and Growth of Free Public Schools) ; 279-296 (The 
Latest Developments in Indiana). Julia S. Conklin, “ The Young People’s 
History of Indiana,” 1 68-1 81 (Hardships of Pioneer Life) ; 267-277 (Indi- 
ana in the War for the Union). Hodgin, “Indiana and the Nation,” 42-47 
(State Officers). 


502 


AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 

I. Who was the first white man to explore the present state of 
Indiana ? 2. Where were the first settlements made in Indiana? 

When ? 3. What is the oldest permanent town in Indiana? 4. 

Who were the wood rangers”? 5. Give an account of the work 
of George Rogers Clark. ' 6. What was its importance? 7. When 

and how was ‘Mndiana Territory” established? 8. How was this 
territory reduced at later dates? 9. Tell what you can of the battle 
of Tippecanoe and its importance. 10. When was Indiana made a 
state? II. Where was the Michigan Road located? 12. What 
was the importance of the W abash and Erie Canal ? 

13. When was the present constitution of Indiana made? 14. 
What is the nature of the Bill of Rights? 15. How often does the 
General Assembly meet? Of how many members is it composed? 

16. Make a list of the powers of the Governor. 17. What are 
the duties of the Secretary of State? 18. What are the duties of 
the Auditor of State? 19. What are the duties of the Treas- 
urer of State ? 20. What are the duties of the Attorney- 

General? 21. What are the duties of the State Geologist? 22. 

What are the duties of the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics? 23. 
What are the duties of the State Librarian ? 24. What are the duties 

of the Board of State Charities and Corrections? 25. Make a list of 

the county officers, with their principal duties. 26. What are the 

duties of the township Trustee? 


APPENDIX 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

In Congress^ July 4, 

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America 

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to 
dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume 
among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of 
Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man- 
kind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separa- 
tion. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they 
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are 
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights. Govern- 
ments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the 
governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these 
ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Gov- 
ernment, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such 
form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Pru- 
dence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed 
for light and transient causes ; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that man- 
kind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves 
by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of 
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to 
reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off 
such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has 
been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which con- 
strains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present 
King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in 
direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove 
this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. 

V 

Pie has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the 
public good. 

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing impor- 
tance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained ; and 
when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of 


XXI 


XXll 


APPENDIX 


people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the 
Legislature, a right inestimahle to them and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and 
distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing 
them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly 
firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be 
elected ; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned 
to the People at large for their exercise ; the State remaining in the mean time 
exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States ; for that purpose 
obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners ; refusing to pass others to 
encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations 
of Lands. 

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws 
for establishing Judiciary Powers. 

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices,' 
and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers 
to harrass our People, and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace. Standing Armies without the Consent 
of our legislature. 

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil 
Power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our con- 
stitution, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving his Assent to their Acts of pre- 
tended Legislation : 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us : 

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which 
they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States : 

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world : 

P'or imposing taxes on us without our Consent : 

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury : 

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences : 

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, 
establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to 
render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule 
into these Colonies : 

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering 
fundamentally the Forms of our Governments : 

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with 
Power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and 
waging War against us. 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE xxiii 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed 
the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to compleat 
the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of 
Cruelty & perhdy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy 
the Head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear 
Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Breth- 
ren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring 
on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule 
of warfare, is in undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. 

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most 
humble terms ; Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. 
A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is 
unfit to be the ruler of a free People. 

Nor have We been wanting in attention to our Brittish brethren. We have 
warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwar- 
rantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our 
emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and mag- 
nanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our commorf kindred to disavow 
these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspond- 
ence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We 
must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and 
hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind. Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General 
Congress Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude 
of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these 
Colonies, solemnly publish and declare. That these United Colonies are, and of Right 
ought to be Free and Independent States ; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance 
to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State 
of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved ; and that as Free and Inde- 
pendent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, 
establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States 
may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on 
the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, 
our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. 

JOHN HANCOCK. 

JVeTv Ilavipshire — JosiAH Bartlett, Wm. Whipple, Matthew Thornton. 

Massachusetts Bay — Saml. Adams, John Adams, Robt. Treat Paine, 
Elbridge Gerry. 

Rhode Isla7id — Step. Hopkins, William Ellery. 

Connecticut — Roger Sherman, Sam’el Huntington, Wm. Williams, Oliver 
Wolcott. 

Neiv York — Wm. Floyd, Phil. Livingston, Frans. Lewis, Lewis Morris. 


XXIV 


APPENDIX 


New Jersey — Richd. Stockton, Jno. Witherspoon, Fras. Hopkinson, John 
Hart, Abra. Clark. 

Pennsylvania — Robt. Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benja. Franklin, John 
Morton, Geo. Clymer, Jas. Smith, Geo. Taylor, James Wilson, Geo. Ross. 
Delaivare — C.KSAR Rodney, Geo. Read, Tho. M’Kean. 

Maryland — Samuel Chase, Wm. Paca, Thos. Stone, Charles Carroll of 
Carrollton. 

VirgUiia — George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Th. Jefferson, Benja.' 
Harrison, Thos. Nelson, jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. 

North Carolina — Wm. Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn. 

South Carolina — Edward Rutledge, Thos. Heyward, Junr., Thomas Lynch, 
Junr., Arthur Middleton. 

Georgia — Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, Geo. Walton. 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, estab- 
lish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the 
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do 
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 
section i. 

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United 
States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. 

SECTION II. 

The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every 
second year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each State shall 
have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State legislature. 

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age of 
twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States 
which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, 
which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including 
those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three 
fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years 
after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subse- 
quent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxv 


Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall 
have at least one Representative ; and until such enumeration shall be made, the 
State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, 
Rhode Island a7id Providerice Plantations one, Connecticut five. New York six. New 
Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten. North 
Carolina five. South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the executive 
authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers, and 
shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

SECTION III. 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each 
State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years ; and each Senator shall have 
one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, 
they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the 
Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year ; of 
the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class, at the 
expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; 
and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise during the recess of the legisla- 
ture of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the 
next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty 
years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when 
elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but 
shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore in 
the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of President 
of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for 
that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the 
United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside : and no person shall be con- 
victed without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from 
office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under 
the United States ; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject 
to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

SECTION IV. 

The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representa- 
tives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof ; but the Congress 
may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of 
choosing Senators. 


XXVI 


APPENDIX 


The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall 
be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different 
day. 

SECTION V. 

Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its 
own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but 
a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel 
the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as 
each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceeding, punish its members for 
disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish 
the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy, and the 
yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of 
one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the 
other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
the two houses shall be sitting. 

SECTION VI. 

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, 
to be ascertained by law and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They 
shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from 
arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going 
to and returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house they 
shall not be questioned in any other place. 

No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be 
appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall 
have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such 
time ; and no person holding any office under the United States shall be a member 
of either house during his continuance in office. 

SECTION VII. 

, All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives ; but 
the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the 
Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United 
States ; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his 
objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the 
objections at large on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. If after such 
reconsideration two thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, 
together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be recon- 
sidered, and if approved by two thirds of that house it shall become a law. But in 
all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxvii 


names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal 
of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President 
within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by 
their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and 
House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) 
shall be presented to the President of the United States ; and before the same shall 
take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed 
by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules 
and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

SECTION VIII. 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and 
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of 
the United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout 
the United States ; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States, and 
with the Indian tribes ; 

To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject 
of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the 
standard of weights and measures ; 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin 
of the United States ; 

To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times 
to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and dis- 
coveries ; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas and 
offenses against the law of nations ; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning 
captures on land and water ; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be 
for a longer term than two years ; 

To provide and maintain a navy ; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces ; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress 
insurrections, and repel invasions ; 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing 
such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving 
to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of train- 
ing the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 


APPENDIX 


xxviii 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not 
exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States and the accept- 
ance of Congress, become the seat of the Government of the United States, and to 
exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of 
the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, 
dockyards, and other needful buildings ; and 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution , 
the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Gov- 
ernment of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

SECTION IX. 

The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing 
y shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the 
year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on 
such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when 
in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census 
or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the 
ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to or from one 
State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropria- 
tions made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expend- 
itures of all public money shall be published from time to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no person holding 
any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, 
accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any 
king, prince, or foreign State. 


SECTION X. 

No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation ; grant letters of 
marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make anything but gold 
and silver coin a tender inpayment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto 
law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties on 
imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspec- 
tion laws ; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on 
imports or exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury of the United States ; and 
all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep 
troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxix 


another State or with a foreign power, or engage in w'ar, unless actually invaded or 
in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

SECTION I. 

The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of 
America. Pie shall hold his office during the term of four years, and together with 
the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows : 

Each State shall appoint, in such, manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a 
number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to 
which the State may be entitled in the Congress ; but no Senator or Representative, 
or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be 
appointed an elector. 

[The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for two per- 
sons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with them- 
selves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of 
votes for each ; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the 
seat of government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. 
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Rep 
resentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The 
person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be 
a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if there be more than 
one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the Plouse of 
Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President ; and 
if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House 
shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President the votes 
shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the 
States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, 
after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of 
the electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more 
who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice- 
President.] ^ 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors and the day on 
which they shall give their votes, which day shall be the same throughout the United 
States. 

No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the 
time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; 
neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the 
age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, 
, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall 
devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of 


^ This clause of the Constitution has been amended. See twelfth article of the Amendments. 


XXX 


APPENDIX 


removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, 
declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accord- 
ingly until the disability be removed or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which 
shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he may have 
. been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from 
the United States or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office he shall take the following oath or 
affirmation : 

“ I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of Presi- 
dent of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and 
defend the Constitution of the United States.” 

SECTION ir. 

The President shall be Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of the United 
States, and of the militia of the several States when called into the actual service of 
the United States ; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in 
each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses 
against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make 
treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur ; and he shall nominate, 
and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, 
other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers 
of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and 
which shall be established by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the appoint- 
ment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during 
the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of 
their next session. 

SECTION III. 

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the 
Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge neces- 
sary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or 
either of them, and in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of 
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall 
receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States. 

SECTION IV. 

The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States shall be 
removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, or other 
high crimes and misdemeanors. 


THE COxNSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxxi 


ARTICLE III. 

SECTION I. 

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, 
and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and estab- 
lish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices 
during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compen- 
sation which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

SECTION II. 

The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this 
Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall l)e 
made, under their authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public minis- 
ters, and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to contro- 
versies to which the United States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or 
more States ; between a State and citizens of another State ; between citizens of 
different States ; between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, 
citizens, or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those 
in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. 
In all the other cases before mentioned the Supreme Court shall have appellate juris- 
diction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as 
the Congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury ; and 
such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed ; 
but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places 
as the Congress may by law have directed. 

SECTION III. 

Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, 
or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be 
convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, 
or on confession in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no 
attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture except during the life 
of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

SECTION I. 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and 
judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general laws 
prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, 
and the effect thereof. 


XXXll 


APPENDIX 


SECTION II. 

The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of 
citizens in the several States. 

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee 
from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority 
of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having 
jurisdiction of the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping 
into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged 
from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom 
such service or labor may be due. 


SECTION III. 

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ; but no new State 
shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State ; nor any State 
be formed by the junction of two or more States or parts of States, without the con- 
sent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and 
regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States ; 
and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of 
the United States or of any particular State. 

SECTION IV. 

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form 
of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, and on application 
of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), 
against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall 
propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of 
two thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, 
which in either case shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitu- 
tion, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by con- 
ventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be 
proposed by the Congress, provided that no amendments which may be made prior 
to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first 
and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; and that no State, without 
its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this 
Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution as 
under the confederation. 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxxiii 


This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pur- 
suance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of 
the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in every 
State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the 
several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers both of the United 
States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this 
Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the estab- 
lishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, the seven- 
teenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred 
and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United States of America 
the twelfth. In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

George Washington, President, and Deputy from Virginia. 

New Hampshire — John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman. 

Massachusetts — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 

Connecticut — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 

New York — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey — William Livingston, David Brearly, William Patterson, Jonathan 
Dayton. 

Pennsylvania — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George 
Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris. 

Delaware — George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard 
Bassett, Jacob Broom. 

Maryland — James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. 

Virginia — John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. 

South Carolina — John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles 
Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 

Georgia — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

Attest : William Jackson, Secretary, 


XXXIV 


APPENDIX 


AMENDMENTS. 

ARTICLE I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit- 
ing the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press ; 
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for 
a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II. 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right 
of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE III. 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent 
of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, 
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants 
shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particu- 
larly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, 
unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the 
land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public 
danger ; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in 
jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness 
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of 
law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and 
public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall 
have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, 
and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted 
with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses 
in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty 
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall 


THE CONSriTUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxxv 


be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the 
rules of the common law. 


ARTICLE VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 
unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to 
deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor pro- 
hibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people. 

ARTICLE XI. 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any 
suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by 
citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 

ARTICLE XII. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for President 
and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
State with themselves ; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as 
President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they 
shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President and of all persons 
voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each ; which lists 
they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of 
the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the 
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all 
the certificates and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the 
greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have 
such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding 
three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives 
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the Presi- 
dent the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having 
one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two 
thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right 
of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, 
then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other 
constitutional disability of the President. 


XXXVl 


APPENDIX 


The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President shall be the 
Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on 
the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole 
number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to 
the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United 
States. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for 
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

Section i. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to 
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein 
they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the priv- 
ileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive 
any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor deny to any 
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each 
State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for 
the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Repre- 
sentatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members 
of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, 
being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way 
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of represen- 
tation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male 
citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in 
such State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or 
elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under 
the United States or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a 
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any 
State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the 
Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion 
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, 
by a vote of two thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by 
law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in 
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the 
United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxxvii 


aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss 
or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be 
held illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, 
the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV. 

Section i. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied 
or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or pre- 
vious condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro- 
priate legislation. 


The Federal Convention which framed the Constitution met at Philadelphia in 
May, 1787, and completed its work September 17. The number of delegates chosen 
to the convention was sixty-five; ten did not attend; sixteen declined signing the 
Constitution, or left the convention before it was ready to be signed ; thirty-nine 
signed. 

The States ratified the Constitution in the following order : — 


Delaware December 7, 1787 

Pennsylvania .... December 12, 1787 

New Jersey December 18, 1787 

Georgia January 2, 1788 

Connecticut January 9, 1788 

Massachusetts. . . . February 6, 1788 

Rhode Island . . 


Maryland April 28, 1788 

South Carolina May 23, 1788 

New Hampshire June 21, 1788 

Virginia June 25, 1788 

New York July 26, 1788 

North Carolina . . . November 21, 1789 

. . May 29, 1790 


The first ten amendments were proposed in 1789, and declared adopted in 1791. 
The eleventh amendment was proposed in 1794, and declared adopted in 1798. 
The twelfth amendment was proposed in 1803, and declared adopted in 1804. 
The thirteenth amendment was proposed and adopted in 1865. 

The fourteenth amendment was proposed in 1866, and adopted in 1868. 

The fifteenth amendment was proposed in 1869, and adopted in 1870. 


• • • 


XXXVlll 


APPENDIX 


STATISTICAL TABLES 

PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATIONS 


George Washington 1789-1797 

John Adams 1797-1801 

Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809 

James Madison .......... 1809-1817 

James Monroe . 1817-1825 

John Quincy Adams 1825-1829 

Andrew Jackson 1829-1837 

Martin Van Buren ......... 1837-1841 

William H. Harrison and John Tyler ...... 1841-1845 

James K. Polk 1845-1849 

Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore ...... 1849-1853 

Franklin Pierce 1853-1857 

James Buchanan 1857-1861 

Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865 

Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson ..... 1865-1869 

Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877 

Rutherford B. Hayes ......... 1877-1881 

James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur . . . '. . 1881-1885 

Grover Cleveland ......... 1885-1889 

Benjamin Harrison ......... 1889-1893 

Grover Cleveland ......... 1893-1897 

William McKinley 1897-1901 

William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt .... 1901-1905 

Theodore Roosevelt . 1905- 


STATISTICAL TABLES 


XXXIX 


STATE STATISTICS 


States 

Date of 
Admission 

Area in 
Sq. Miles 

Population 
IN 1900 

I. 

Delaware 





2,050 

184.735 

2. 

Pennsylvania 

C/5 



45.215 

6,302,115 

3 - 

New Jersey 





7.815 

1,883,669 

4 - 

Georgia 




- 

59,475 

2,216,331 

5 - 

Connecticut 


"IS 

c 



4,990 

908,355 

6. 

Massachusetts 

’So 

• ^ 



8.315 

2,805,346 

7 - 

Maryland 


^ 0 



12,210 

1,190,050 

8. 

South Carolina 

c 

OJ 

<u 



30,570 

1.340,316 

9 - 

New Hampshire 

V-I 



9,305 

411,588 

lO. 

Virginia 


X* 

H 



42450 

1,854,184 

II. 

New York 


<L) 

X 



49,170 

7,268,012 

12. 

North Carolina 

H 



52,250 

1,893,810 

13 - 

Rhode Island 

- 

• 



1,250 

428,556 

14. 

Vermont admitted 


March 

4 » 1791 

9.565 

343.641 

15- 

Kentucky 

(( 


June 

I, 1792 

40,400 

2,147,174 

16. 

Tennessee 

<< 


June 

I, 1796 

42,050 

2,020,616 

17- 

Ohio 



Feb. 

19, 1803 

41,060 

4,157,545 

18. 

Louisiana 

it 


April 

8, 1812 

48,720 

1,381,625 

19. 

Indiana 

<< 


Dec. 

II, 1816 

36,350 

2,516,462 

20. 

Mississippi 

(t 


Dec. 

10, 1817 

46,810 

1,551,270 

21. 

Illinois 

(( 


Dec. 

3, 1818 

56.650 

4.821,550 

22. 

Alabama 

(( 


Dec. 

14, 1819 

52,250 

1,828,697 

23- 

Maine 

u 


March 

15, 1820 

33,040 

694,466 

24. 

Missouri 

n 


Aug. 

10, 1821 

69.415 

3,106,665 

25- 

Arkansas 

(t 


June 

15, 1836 

53.850 

1.311.564 

26. 

Michigan 

n 


Jan. 

26, 1837 

58.915 

2,420,982 

27- 

Florida 

n 


March 

3. 1845 

58,680 

528,542 

28. 

Texas 

u 


Dec. 

29, 1845 

265,780 

3,048,710 

29. 

Iowa 

(( 


Dec. 

28, 1846 

56,025 

2,231,853 

30 - 

Wisconsin 

it 


May 

29, 1848 

56,040 

2,069,042 

31 - 

California 

(( 

» 

• t • • • 

Sept. 

9, 1850 

158.360 

1,485,053 

32. 

Minnesota 

(( 


May 

II, 1858 

83.365 

i, 75 L 394 

33 ‘ 

Oregon 

<( 


Feb. 

14, 1859 

96,030 

413,536 

34 - 

Kansas 

(( 


Jan. 

29, 1861 

82,080 

1,470,495 

35 - 

West Virginia 

n 


June 

19, 1863 

24,780 

958,800 


Nevada 

n 


Oct. 

31, 1864 

110,700 

42,335 

37 - 

Nebraska 

(( 


March 

I, 1867 

77,510 

1, 068,539 

38. 

Colorado 

ii 


Aug. 

I, 1876 

103,925 

539,700 

39 - 

North Dakota 

a 


Nov. 

3. 1889 

70,795 

319,146 


xl 


APPENDIX 


STATE STATISTICS (Continued) 


States 

Date of 
Admission 

Area in 
Sq. Miles 

Population 
in 1900 

40. 

South Dakota admitted .... 

Nov. 

3, 1889 

77,650 

401,570 

41. 

Montana 

(( 

• » • • • 

Nov. 

8, 1889 

146,080 

243 G 29 

42. 

Washington 

(C 

• • 0 • • 

Nov. 

II, 1889 

69,180 

5'8,io'3 

43 - 

Idaho 

u 

• • • • • 

July 

3, 1890 

84,800 

161,772 

44. 

Wyoming 

<( 

• • • • « 

July 

10, 1890 

97,890 

92, 53 ^ 

45 - 

Utah 

• • • • « 

Jan. 

4, 1896 

84,970 

276,749 


TERRITORIAL GROWTH OF THE UNITED STATES, 1783-1906 


Area in 1783 . 

Louisiana Purchase, 1803 
Florida, 1819 . 

Texas, 1845 
Mexican Cession, 1845 
Gadsden Purchase, 1853 
Alaska, 1867 . 

Hawaii, 1898 . 

Porto Rico, 1899 
Guam, 1899 
The Philippines, 1899 
Samoa, 1900 . 


827,000 sq. miles 


. 1,171,000 

u 

. 59,000 

u 

376,000 

u 

545,000 

u 

45,000 

u 

577,000 

u 

6,500 

ii 

3,600 

u 

200 

u 

about 127,000 

u 

80 

u 


Note. — The areas are given in round numbers, and in the cases of the 
outlying dependencies accurate surveys have not been made in every instance. 


AREA OF THE UNITED STATES IN SQUARE MILES 

Area in 1790 ........ 827,000 

Area in 1900 ........ 3,750,000 

The latter figures include all of the dependencies of the United States. 


POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES BY DECADES 


179® .•»»»...». 

1800 5,308,483 

1810 7,239,881 

1820 9,638,453 

1830 12,866,020 


STATISTICAL TABLES 


xli 


POPULATION OF THE UNITED 

1 840 

1850 

i860. .... 

1870 

1880 

1 890 

1900 


STATES BY DECADES (Continued) 

• i7»o69»453 

. 23.191,876 

• 31443.321 

• 38>SS8,37I 

• 50.>55^83 

. 62,622,250 

• 75477,467 


If the population of the Philippines and other island dependencies of the 
United States were added, the total population at the present time would be 
about 85,000,000. 


xlii 


APPENDIX 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 
Chapter I 

I. What is meant by the unity of history? 2. What did the 
Hebrews contribute to the civilization of the world? The Phoenicians? 
The Greeks? The Romans? 3. What was the importance of the 
treaty of Verdun? 4. What was the Renaissance? 5. Show the 
connection between English and American history. 


Chapter II 

I. Tell what you can of the Norse discovery of America. 2. In 
what locality was Vinland located? 3. Why was the East important? ' 
4. What was the great geographical and commercial problem of the 
fifteenth century? 5. How did the Portuguese attempt to solve this 
problem ? How, the Spaniards ? 6. Why were the American savages 

called Indians? 7. What was the Pope’s line of 1493? Ex- 

plain the importance of Magellan’s famous voyage. 9. How was 
‘^America” named? 10. Where was the first permanent colony in 
the United States founded? Give the date. ii. Who discovered 

the Mississippi River? When? 

Chapter HI 

I. In what ways do the physical features of a country influence its 
history? 2. Why were the exploration and colonization of the Amer- 
ican continent easier from the east toward the west than they would 
have been in the opposite direction? 3. How could an explorer go 
from New York harbor to the Pacific, making almost the entire distance 
by water? 4. Trace on the map other similar routes from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific. 

Chapter IV 

I. Define a colony. 2. Give six motives for colonization. 3. 
What relation existed between the Greek colony and the mother coun- 
try? 4. What relation existed in the seventeenth century between an 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


xliii 


English colony and the mother country? 5. Give an account of 
Raleigh’s attempts to found colonies. 6. What was the effect of the 
defeat of the Spanish Armada? 7. What land was granted to the 
London Company? What to tlie Plymouth Company? 8. When 
and where was the first permanent English colony founded in the United 
States? 9. What was the general character of the Virginia colo- 
nists? 10. What was the first representative legislature ever convened 
in America? Give date. ii. When was slavery introduced into 
America? How? 12. What was the main purpose in founding the 
Maryland colony? 13. Why were Locke’s Fundame 7 ital Co 7 isti- 
tutio 7 is a failure? 14. Why was the Georgia colony founded? 

Chapter V 

I. How did the New England colonists differ from those in Virginia? 

2. When did the Pilgrim Fathers land in America? What was the 
Mayflower Compact”? 3. Why did the Massachusetts Bay Colony 

grow so rapidly? 4. How was Rhode Island founded? 5. How 
were the first settlements made in Connecticut? 6. What was the 
purpose of the New England Confederation? 7. What effect did the 
English Revolution of 1688 have on the government of the American 
colonies ? 

Chapter VI 

I. What was Hudson looking for when he sailed up the Hudson 
River? 2. Give an account of the early settlements in New York. 

3. Tell what you can of the Patroon system.” 4. What is meant by 
religious toleration”? 5. Give an account of the capture of New 

Netherland by the English. 6. How did William Penn become 
interested in New Jersey? 7. What kind of man was William Penn? 
8. How did Penn get along with the Indians? 9. When and why 
was Delaware separated from Pennsylvania? 

Chapter VII 

I. Why was slavery more profitable in the South than in the North? 
2. What were indented servants? 3. Tell what you can of the witch- 
craft delusion. 4. Tell what you can of Mason and Dixon’s line. 
5. What was Franklin’s plan for the union of the colonies? 6. When 


xliv 


APPENDIX 


and how did the westward movement” begin? 7. Explain the 

right of discovery” theory. 8. How did the English come into 
contact with the Erench in America? 

Chapter VIII 

I. Give an account of the explorations of Cartier and Chaipplain. 
2. Tell what you can of Coligny’s colony. 3. When and by whom 
was Quebec founded? 4. How did Champlain get the hatred of the 
Iroquois Indians? What was the effect? 5. Why did the French 
wish to get possession of vast areas in America? 6. Where did the 
French make their explorations? 7. What was the object of the 
French in using the leaden plates? 8. What wars did France and 
Great Britain have in America before the French and Indian War? 
9. What were the results of these wars? 10. Give the land claims 
of the French and English in America in 1754. 

II. What message did Washington bring to the French in the fall 

of 1753? ^2. What reply did the French give to the message? 

13. Did France or England seem the stronger in 1754? 14. Tell 

what you can of the Albany congress. 15. Why did Braddock fail 
in America? 16. Why were theAcadians removed from Nova Scotia? 
Do you think that they were treated justly? Have you read Evange- 
line”? 17. When was war formally declared? 18. Tell what you 
can of William Pitt. 19. What sort of man was Montcalm? 
20. What was the importance of the fall of Quebec? 21. What were 
the provisions of the treaty of 1763? 

Chapter IX 

I. State the result of the treaty of 1763 on the European territorial 
possessions in America. Show the relation of these territorial changes 
to the American Revolution. 2. Explain the meaning of the attempt 
of George HI to restore personal government in Great Britain. How 
did the king control Parliament? 3. What was the difference 
between English and American representation at the time of the Ameri- 
can Revolution ? 4. Show how British expenses and debt helped to 

bring on the quarrel with the mother country. 5. State the three 
measures of Grenville’s ministry which produced the American Revolu- 
tion. 6. Explain how the British trade laws helped to bring on the 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


xlv 


Revolution. 7. Explain the objections to the Writs of Assistance, and 
tell what Otis did about them. 8. Explain the British quartering 
policy, and tell why the Americans were opposed to it and what they did 
about it. 

9. What reasons may be given for the British attempt to tax America? 
10. Give the substance of the Stamp Act, and tell why Americans resisted 
it. II. Explain the American distinction between internal and 
external 12. State the principles announced by the Stamp 

Act Congress,” 1765. 13. Show how the Revolution was a civil war 

between two parties rather than a war between two countries. 14. 
Why did Americans not resist the Declaratory Act? 15. What made 
the Tories unpopular in America? 16. Explain the Townshend 
measures. 17. Give an account of Samuel Adams’s services in the 
Revolution. 18. Explain the difficulties Great Britain met with in 
enforcing her revenue laws in America. 19. Show how the Boston 
Massacre ” helped to bring on the war. 20. Why did Parliament 
retain the tea tax in 1770? Show the foolishness of this policy. 

21. How did the king and the British rulers look upon the conduct 
of the colonists? 22. Summarize the rights of the Americans that 
had been violated before 1774. 23. State briefly the provisions of 

the three coercive acts ” of Parliament. 24. Can you show that it 
was not merely paying money that the Americans were objecting to? 

25. What was the Quebec Act? How was it a cause of the Revolution? 

26. Show how the committees of correspondence helped the colonies to 
unite. 27. Describe the work of the First Continental Congress and 
name some of the men who were members of it. 28. What was the 

American Association” of 1774? How was its purpose to be carried 
out ? 29. Give an account of the battles of Lexington and Concord. 

30. Recite a list of the causes of the American Revolution. What was 
the most important cause ? Give the reason for your answer. 

Chapter X 

I. Give an account of the battle of Bunker Hill and tell why it was 
important. 2. Describe the character of Washington. 3. What 
was the sentiment in America about independence up to 1775 ? 4 - 

what cause did the Americans take up arms? 5. Recite a number of 
causes leading the colonists to favor independence. 6. Wdiat kind 
of a book was Paine’s ‘^Common Sense”? Tell what influence it had 


xlvi 


APPENDIX 


in promoting independence. 7. Who were the Hessians ? What 
influence did their coming to America have ? 8. Recite briefly the 

history of the Declaration of Independence. 9. What objections 
were urged against the Declaration? 10. Name the five members 
of the committee that drafted the Declaration. Who was its author ? 
II. What principles are set forth by the Declaration of Independence ? 
12: What charges are brought against King George III in the Declara- 
tion? Can you prove these charges? 13. Commit the preamble to 
the Declaration. 

Chapter XI 

I. What was the first military object of the British in our War for 
Independence? 2. Give an account of Washington’s struggles with 
the British in the region of New York City, in 1776. 3. Explain 

what a dark hour it was for the American cause after Washington’s 
retreat across New Jersey. 4. When and why did Thomas Paine 
write the first number of The Crisis? What effect did it have ? Quote 
from it. 5. Explain how the battles of Trenton and Princeton revived 
the American cause. 6. How did the British general, Howe, take his 
army to Philadelphia? 7. What battles were fought before he reached 
that city? 8. How did Washington show his great generalship in 
these campaigns ? 9. What was the purpose of Burgoyne’s invasion? 

Explain the plan of it. 10. Name the principal battles and events 
in the history of Burgoyne’s invasion. ii. Give an account of the 
battles of Bennington and Oriskany. 12. Name the principal 
American generals who fought against Burgoyne. 13. By what means , 
was Burgoyne defeated ? Who did most to bring this defeat about ? 
To whom did he surrender ? How large was his army ? 14. Why may 

the surrender of Burgoyne be called a turning point ” in the Revolu- 
tionary War? 

15. How did this surrender affect the attitude of France toward 
America? 16. What did France do for America? 17. Why did 
France fight for American independence ? 18. What plan of recon- 

ciliation with America did Lord North propose after the French alliance? 
Why did America not accept this proposal? 19. What was Spain’s 
attitude toward Great Britain and America during our Revolution? 

20. What was the character and purpose of the ^‘Conway Cabal”? 

21. Describe Washington’s winter at Valley Forge. 22. Give an 
account of the treason of Charles Lee and the battle of Monmouth. 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


xlvii 


23. What progress had Great Britain made by the close of 1778 toward 
subduing America? 24. Give an account of John Paul Jones and 
his great sea fight. 25. Give an account of Arnold’s treason. 
26. What influenced Arnold to take such a course? 27. How was 
Major Andr^ captured, and why was he executed ? 28. Locate on 

the map the principal battle fields during the campaigns in the South. 
(See p. 144.) Trace the line of General Greene’s retreat. 29. Give 
an account of the defeat of Cornwallis at York town. What was the 
effect of Cornwallis’s surrender ? 30. Give the preliminary terms of 

the treaty of peace agreed to in 1782. 31. How did American 

success in the Revolution promote better constitutional government in 
England? 32. Who were the American negotiators in making peace? 
33. Why did the American peace negotiators violate their instructions 
and not inform France of what they were doing ? 34. What was the 

attitude of France and Spain toward the western boundary of the 
United States ? 35. What parts of the peace treaty were disliked by 

some of the states? Why? 36. Explain the feeling in America 
toward the Tories. What kind of people were the Tories? 37. What 
was the ‘‘Newburgh Address”? 38. How did Washington show 
great patriotism at the end of the war? 39. What provision did 
Congress make for the Revolutionary soldiers? 40. Point out on the 
map the location of the following places and tell what they are noted 
for : Ticonderoga, Cowpens, Yorktown, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Benning- 
ton, Brandywine Creek, King’s Mountain, Bunker Hill, Lexington, West 
Point, White Plains, Camden, Fort Moultrie, Stony Point, Trenton, 
Princeton, Germantown. 41. State the principal results of the 
American Revolution. 


Chapter XII 

I. Name all the instances of union among the colonies before 1774. 
2. What was the “ Period of the Old Confederation ” in American his- 
tory? Why may this be called a “critical period”? 3. What 
caused the meeting of the First Continental Congress? 4. To what 
extent did this Congress act like a government ? 5. Why did the 

colonies resolve on union as soon as they resolved on independence ? 
6. Trace the steps and describe the process by which the “ Old Con- 
federation ” was formed. 7. What kind of a general government did 
the colonies have during most of the War for Independence ? 8. Why 


APPENDIX 


xlviii 

was there so much delay in adopting the Articles of Confederation/’ 
or the plan of union ? State three reasons. 9. What differences arose 
between the large states and the small states in forming the Con- 
federation ? 

10. On what basis were votes allotted among the states under the 
Articles of Confederation ? 1 1. On what basis were taxes, or expenses,, 

distributed ? 12. What was New Jersey’s principal objection to the 

Articles of Confederation ? Why did she make this objection ? Show 
that the objection was a good one. 13. What was Maryland’s chief 
objection to the Articles of Confederation ? 14. What great service 

to the Union was rendered by Maryland in making this objection ? 
15. What states made claims to Western lands ? Name the states that 
had no claims. 16. Show that the Continental Congress was an 
advisory body rather than a governing body. 1 7. In what acts did it 
appear like a national government ? 18. What kind of business did 

this Congress attend to? 19. By what bodies were the people gov- 
erned from 1774 to 1781? Explain the answer. 

20. When and why did the states make new constitutions? 21. What 
did each of these constitutions provide for ? In what respects were 
they alike? 22. What was the nature of the ‘^Provincial Con- 
gresses” in the early days of the Revolution ? 23. Show the defects 

and weaknesses of the “ Old Confederation ” in the following respects : 
(a) In the lack of executive power, (d)' In the lack of judicial power. 
(c) In the organization of Congress, (d) In the lack of power to raise 
revenue, (e) In the lack of power to regulate commerce. (/) In the lack 
of power to preserve order in the states, (g) In the difficulty in making 
amendments. 24. Show how rivalry and jealousy existed among the 
states under the Confederation. 25. Why was the Confederation called 
“a rope of sand”? 26. Why were the states afraid to give more 
power to the general government ? 27. In what ways were the people 

worse off after the Revolution than before ? 28. What was the cause 

of Shays’s Rebellion ? What kind of men were engaged in it ? 29. Sum- 

marize the causes under the Confederation that led the people to see 
the necessity of a new constitution. 30. Explain clearly what is 
meant by the statement that the “ Old Confederation ” was only a 
league of states. 

31. What was the Ordinance of 1787 ? 32. Name four reasons 

why it has become so famous. 33. Describe the ordinance which 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


xlix 


became the basis of our public land system. 34. State the causes 
leading to the settlement of the Northwest Territory. 35. State the 
result of George Rogers Clark’s expedition to the Northwest. 36. What 
policy did Congress promise to pursue with reference to the Western 
territory in order to induce the claimant states to yield their claims ?, 
37. Tell how the ownership, government, and settlement of the North- 
west helped to nationalize ” the general government. 38. Did the 
states make the Union or did the Union make the states ? Give the 
reasons for your answer. 

Chapter XIII 

I. Show how the necessity for a common regulation of commerce was 
influential in bringing about the Constitutional Convention. 2. What 
purpose and influence had the Annapolis Convention of 1786 ? 3. State 

why the Constitutional Convention of 1787 is of great importance. 

4. Name the leading members of the Convention from the various states. 

5. Who is called the Father of the Constitution ”? What great service 

did he render during the Convention ? 6. For what purpose was the 

Convention called ? Why did the Convention go beyond this purpose? 
7. What were the principal sources of the Constitution ? 8. What 

service did Franklin render in the Convention? 9. Name the three 
principal compromises of the Convention. 10. What was the charac- 
ter of the contest between the large states and the small states ? 
II. State the differences between the ‘^Virginia Plan” and the ‘‘New 
Jersey Plan.” 

12. What kind of a plan did Hamilton favor? 13. Explain how 
the “ three-fifths compromise ” came about. 14. What was done 
about the slave trade and the regulation of commerce? 15. What 

states objected to stopping the slave trade? Why? 16. What 

states wanted a majority of Congress to regulate commerce ? Why? 
1 7. How was the Constitution ratified ? 18. On what condition was it 

to go into operation ? 19. Who were its advocates ? Its opponents ? 

20. Why was ratification opposed ? 21. What was the “Federalist ”? 

Who were its authors ? 22. What is meant by the “ bill of rights”? 

23. In what sense was the Constitution to be an experiment ? 

Chapter XIV 

I. State how the Constitution remedied the defects of the Confeder- 
ation. 2. State the three departments of the government and their 


1 


APPENDIX 




uses. 3. What limitations were imposed on the powers of the states 
under the Old Confederation? 4. What new limitations on the states 
were added by the Constitution? 5. What important new powers 
were added to the general government? 6. Explain how a new 
allegiance and a new citizenship were created by the Constitution. 
7. State the principal governmental problem in the making of the Con- 
stitution. How was this solved ? 8. Show how the ‘‘ supreme-law- 

of-the-land ” clause was the essential feature in the new Constitution, 
and how it has enabled the new government to maintain its authority. 

9. Explain how two allegiances and two citizenships came into conflict 
in the Civil War. What was the result ? 10. How did the national 

government maintain its authority without coercing the states ? 
II. Explain how the states are supreme in their own sphere of govern- 
ment. 12. What is the extent of the powers that the United States 
government may exercise ? 13. What is the extent of the powers that 

may be exercised by the states ? 14. What is an ex post jacto law? 

15. Are powers granted ” or reserved ” to the states by the Constitu- 
tion ? Explain the difference. 16. Was the Constitution made by 
the states or were the states made by the Constitution? 17. What is 
meant by the rights of the states? 

18. Define monarchy^ aristocracy y democracy y republic y plutocracy. 
19. Distinguish between a confederate republic, a centj'alized republic, 
and a federal republic. What kind is the United States ? 20. Did 

the framers of our Constitution intend to make a natiojial government ? 
Give the reason for your answer. 

Chapter XV 

I. When and why was the Presidency created? What is the chief 
duty of the President ? 2. What reasons were given for and against 

vesting the executive power in one man? 3. State the length of 
the President’s term of office, and state the sense in which a President is 
not eligible to a third term. What reason can you give for having only 
one term for the President? 4. Describe fully the mode of electing 
the President. Name several methods proposed in the Convention of 
1787. 5. What is meant by the electoral college ? 6. Why was the 

twelfth amendment adopted, and what did it accomplish? 7. How 
many electors has each state in the electoral college? 8. When is 
the Presidential election ? 9. What body determines the method of 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


li 


choosing the electors ? By what various methods have Presidential 
electors been chosen during our history? lo. Explain the ^Mistrict 
plan” and its advantages. ii. How does the ^‘common ticket” 
plan make the large states more important ? 1 2. Is a Presidential 

elector free to vote for whom he pleases for President ? Why ? Show 
how the plan of choosing the President by electors has changed 
since the beginning of the Constitution. 13. Why was the electoral 
college created ? 14. Explain how the President and Vice President 

are elected if the electoral college fails to elect. 

15. State the qualifications required of the President. 16. How is 
the President removable? 17. How may a vacancy occur in the 
President’s office? Who then succeeds to the office? 18. What are 
the qualifications and duties of the Vice President? 19. In case of 
the death of the President and Vice President, state the order of succes- 
sion to the Presidential office. What plan of succession formerly pre- 
vailed ? When and why was it changed ? 20. What is the 

President’s Cabinet? What does the Constitution say about the 
Cabinet? Name the present members of the Cabinet. 21. Classify 
the duties and powers of the President. Illustrate each class. 
22. Name some of the war powers of the President. 23. How 
does a bill become a law ? 24. Explain the use of the Presidential 

veto. 25. What is a ‘^pocket veto”? 26. What change did 
Jackson make in the use of the veto? 27. Explain how a treaty is 
made. 28. Show why the power of appointment is one of the most 
important of the President’s powers. 29. Why do senators and 
congressmen take part in appointments ? 30. What does the 

Constitution say about guaranteeing ‘‘republican government” ? 
31. When does it become the President’s duty to help suppress violence 
and insurrection within a State ? 32. Why is the American President 

more powerful than the English king ? 

Chapter XVI 

I. How large a body is the Senate ? 2. How many senators are there 

from each state ? How are they elected ? 3. What qualifications 

are required of the senators ? The length of their term of office ? 
4. Who is the presiding officer of the Senate ? 5. Why is the Senate 

called a permanent body ? 6. How are vacancies in the Senate 

filled ? 7 . Show that the Senate is a federal not a democratic body. 


APPENDIX 


lii 

8. Explain the legislative powers of the Senate. The executive powers. 
The judicial powers. 9. Name the reasons for the Senate as set forth 
by Hamilton. 10. What arguments can you bring forward in favor 
of electing United States senators directly by a vote of the people ? 
What objections are there to this ? ii. Name some famous senators 
in United States history. 12. What reasons are given accounting for the 
success of the Senate ? 

Chapter XVII 

I. Tell how the House of Representatives differs from the Senate. 
Why is the House called the popular branch ” of Congress? 2. Who 
may vote for representatives in Congress and for President? 3. What 
power determines our suffrage laws ? 4. How is this power restricted ? 

5. What are the qualifications of representatives ? 6. Is a congress- 
man bound to reside in the district he represents ? 7. How and 

when are representatives apportioned among the states ? How many 
representatives are there ? How many were there in 1789 ? 8. How 

are vacancies in the House filled ? 9. When does Congress meet 

regularly ? 10. Name the principal officers of the House. How 

chosen ? ii. What are the duties of the clerk ? 

12. Explain the part of the party caucus in choosing the officers of the 
House. 13. What is the salary of a congressman ? 14. Do you 

think it would be better if they had no salary, like members of Parliament 
in Great Britain ? Could men be induced to serve without pay, for the 
sake of the public welfare ? 15. Name the principal powers of Con- 

gress. (See the Constitution, p. iv.) 16. What powers are withheld 
from Congress? 17. Why are members of Congress exempt from 
arrest? 18. Explain the powers and importance of the Speaker’s 
office. 19. Explain the importance of the Committee on Rules. 
20. In the Senate the committees are elected by the Senate : How are 
they chosen in the House ? How does this affect the power of the 
Speaker? 21. What is a quorum in the House? How was a 
quorum determined during the first century of our history ? How was 
it determined by Speaker Reed ? Why was the change important ? 
22. Explain the importance of the committee system in the legislation 
of the House. 23. Name a few of the principal committees, stating 
the nature of the business each deals with. 24. What is meant by 
logrolling ” ? By filibustering ” ? 25. How may the President in- 
fluence Congress ? 26. How may Congress influence the President ? 


CHAFrER REVIEWS 


liii 


Chapter XVIII 

I. What is the chief function of the Judiciary? 2. Where is the 
judicial power of the United States vested ? 3. What is meant by 

‘inferior” and ‘^superior” courts? What is an Appellate Court? 

4. How are judges of the national courts made independent in their 

decisions? 5. Of what importance was the Judiciary Act of 1789? 
6. How are the justices of the United States courts chosen ? 7. What 

kinds of cases may be tried in the United States courts ? 8. Why 

was the eleventh amendment adopted ? What does it provide for ? 
9. What are the duties of the federal marshal ? Of the district 
attorney ? 

10. What is the most important power of the Judiciary from a 
political point of view ? What was thought of this power in the early 
history of our government ? ii. In England there is no such thing 
as an unconstitutional, or invalid, act of Parliament. Explain. 
12. What occurs in America if statutes, state or national, do not con- 
form to the Constitution ? 13. What is a written constitution ? 

14. Name four kinds of law in America. 15. How may the United 
States Constitution be amended ? 16. In what other ways than 

by amendment has the Constitution grown? 17. What were Chief 
Justice Marshall’s principles of construction? 18. What influence 
has the Supreme Court had in promoting nationality ? 

Chapter XIX 

I. Show how the state touches the citizen many times where the 
nation touches him once. 2. What kind of crimes does the national 
law take notice of? 3. Name some of the forms of local self- 
government in the states. 4. How is a state constitution made ? 
How may Congress have influence in the making of a state constitution ? 

5. How is a state constitution amended ? 6. Name the depart- 

ments of a state government. 7. Of what does the Executive 
Department consist ? 8. What are the duties of the governor ? 

9. What are the duties of the state judges ? How are they chosen ? 

10. Is voting a privilege or a right of citizenship ? Explain your 

answer. ii. What does the fourteenth amendment say about 

citizenship ? 12. Explain the importance of local self-government. 


liv 


APPENDIX 


Chapter XX 

I. What body has power to govern the territories ? 2. What does 

it mean to organize a territory ? 3. Why is the organizing act for a 

territory like a constitution for a state ? 4. What departments of 

government are provided for in an organized territory ? 5* Of what 

does the Executive of a territory consist ? 6. Of what is the terri- 
torial legislature composed ? 7. Of what does the territorial Judi- 

ciary consist ? How and for what term are the judges of the territory 
appointed? 8. May a territory take part in a Presidential election 
or help to legislate in Congress? Why? 9. What is meant by our 

insular possessions ” ? Does the Constitution apply to them ? 
How may its provisions be made to apply to them ? 10. What assurance 

of protection in their rights have the people of our island possessions? 

Chapter XXI 

I. What was the day appointed for the new government to go into 
effect? 2. Why was there delay? . 3. Give the names of Washing- 

ton’s first Cabinet. 4. Give and explain the five parts of Hamilton’s 
financial plan. 5. How did the Federalists and Republicans differ in 
their interpretation or construction of the Constitution? 6. What is 
meant by ‘‘liberal construction ” of the Constitution? What by “strict 
construction”? 7. What great mistake did Minister Genet make? 

8. Tell what you can of Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality. 

9. Why was the Jay Treaty unpopular in the United States? 10. How 

did Fisher Ames save the treaty? ii. What was the nature of 
Washington’s “ Farewell Address ”? 12. What sort of man was John 

Adams? 13. Explain the difficulty between France and the United 
States in the administration of John Adams. 14. What obnoxious 
acts were passed by the Federalists? 15. Why were the Kentucky 
and Virginia resolutions passed? What claims were made in the reso- 
lutions? 16. Explain the process by which Jefferson was elected 
President in 1800. 

Chapter XXII 

I. What was the population of the United States in 1800? 2. Tell 

what you can of the indented servants. 3. Describe stagecoach travel 
in 1800. 4. What was the condition of American literature in 1800? 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


Iv 


Chapter XXIII 

I. Why was Jefferson’s election hailed with delight? 2. Why was 

the Judiciary Act of 1801 repealed? 3. How did Jefferson reduce 
the running expenses of the government? 4. What was the Natural- 
ization Act of 1802 ? 5. Give the substance of the twelfth amendment. 

6. Explain in outline the process by which Louisiana was acquired. 

7. What was the importance of the purchase? 8. What question was 
raised in regard to its constitutionality? 9. Tell what you can of the 
policy of ‘impressment.” 10. What was the “right of search”? 
How was it abused? 

II. Why were France and England making depredations on Ameri- 

can commerce? 12. What was the Embargo Act of 1807? 
13. What was the Non-intercourse Act of 1809? 14. Tell what you 

can of Burr’s “conspiracy.” 15. Who were the “war hawks”? 
16. What were the four important causes of the War of 1812 ? 17. Tell 

what you can of the Hartford Convention of 1814. 18. What is 

meant by the “era of good feeling”? 19. Explain fully the “Mon- 
roe Doctrine.” 20. What was there that was peculiar about the 
election of 1824? 


Chapter XXIV 

I. What is meant by “internal improvements”? What was the 
opinion of President John Quincy Adams in regard to them? 2. What 
was the importance of the Erie Canal? 3. Why was the tariff of 
1828 called the “ Tariff of Abominations ”? 4. What were the issues 

of the campaign of 1828? 


Chapter XXV 

I. In what respect was Jackson’s time a new era? 2. What is the 
“ Spoils System ” ? What was the “American Industrial Revolution”? 
3. What was Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet”? 4. What was the 
“Great Debate” of 1830? 5. What was the doctrine of nullifica- 

tion? 6. Explain the connection between Nullification and the 
tariff. 7. Explain Jackson’s attitude toward the United States Bank. 

8. What were the results of Jackson’s foreign policy? 9 What was 
the nature of the campaign of 1840? 


Ivi 


APPENDIX 


Chapter XXVI 

I. How did the slavery question first come prominently into national 
politics after the adoption of the Constitution? 2. What was the 
early expectation as to the permanence of slavery in the states? 
3. Explain how the invention of the cotton gin tended to strengthen 
slavery. 4. Explain what is meant by the equilibrium of power” 
between the slave states and the free, and show how this was maintained 
up to 1820. Did the slave and the free states have equal power in the 
House of Representatives? Why? 5. State the significance of the 
New Orleans Act of 1804, and tell why Congress allowed slavery in 
Louisiana. 6. Why did Josiah Quincy oppose the admission of 

Louisiana into the Union? How did he regard the Union and the Con- 
stitution? 7. State two grounds of opposition in the North to the 
admission of Missouri as a slave state. 8. How did Northern anti- 
slavery men look upon the extension of slavery? 9. Show the injus- 
tice of extending the three-fifths compromise ” to new slave states. 

10. State the Southern arguments in favor of the admission of Mis- 
souri as a slave state. ii. Tell how a territory becomes a state. 
12. Explain the tenri rider ” in legislation, and tell how the Missouri 
bill was attached as a rider” to the Maine bill. 13. Explain the 
terms ‘deadlock,” conference committee.” 14. State clearly the 
terms of the Missouri Compromise. Who proposed this agreement? 
15. What was proposed in the Tallmadge Amendment to the first Mis- 
souri bill? 16. Give three reasons why the Missouri Compromise 
was of great importance in our history. 17. What did Henry Clay 
have to do with the Missouri Compromise? 18. Notice when this 
Compromise again becomes prominent in American history. 


Chapter XXVII 

I. Give an account of the work of William Lloyd Garrison. When 
did he establish the Liberator? What did this journal stand for? 
2. Give the principles and name some of the founders of the American 
Antislavery Society. Why was the organization of this society an im- 
portant boundary mark” in American history? 3. Describe the 
methods of the Abolitionists. 4. What was the effect of the abolition 
agitation on the slaveholders? 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


Ivii 


5. Show how the abolition movement seemed to make harder the 
condition of the slaves. 6. What was the attitude of the South toward 
Garrison? Give an account of the Garrison mob, 1835. 7 * Explain 

why the Southern people were offended at the abolition attacks. 8. 
Make a list of the arguments of the South in defense of slavery. 
9. Give an account of the Nat Turner insurrection. Did it have any 
connection with the abolition movement? 10. State the methods by 
which the people in the North attempted to suppress abolitionism. 

II. What was the attitude of W. E. Channing toward slavery and 
abolitionism? 12. How do you account for the growth of abolition 
sentiment in the face of so much opposition? 13. When and why 
did a split in the ranks of the Abolitionists occur? State the principles 
of the Garrisonians ” and of the Liberty Party men.” 14. Give 
an account of the attempt to exclude abolition literature from the mails. 
What did this amount to? 15. Give an account of the struggle over 
the right of petition in the House of Representatives. What was the 
gag rule ”? 16. What position did John Quincy Adams take on the 

subject of slavery and what service did he render? 17. What was 
indicated by the discussions over slavery in the halls of Congress? 
18. How did the Abolitionists feel about slavery in the District of 
Columbia? When was slavery established there by national law? What 
was Clay’s position on this subject? 19. What was Garrison’s atti- 
tude toward the Constitution and the Union? Why did he take this 
position? What can you say in defense of it? 20. What was John 
Quincy Adams’s attitude toward the right of petition? What was his 
position on the right of Congress to interfere with slavery in the states? 
What influence did this have on Lincoln during the Civil War? 

Chapter XXVIII 

I. What territory did Texas embrace after our purchase of Louisiana? 
When and how was the ownership of this territory determined? When 
were American settlements made in Texas? Under whose leadership? 
2. What causes led to the revolt of Texas from Mexico? 3. Give an 
account of the massacre of the Alamo and of the battle of San Jacinto. 
Why was San Jacinto an important battle? 4. Give several reasons 
why the Texans wished to be annexed to the United States. 5. What 
reasons were given for opposition to annexation? 6. What were the 
party campaign issues in 1844? 7. State Polk’s position on the an- 


Iviii 


APPENDIX 


nexation of Texas. Clay’s position. 8. What influence did the Abo- 
litionists have in defeating Clay in 1844? Do you think they were 
justified in voting for a third party candidate when there was no hope 
of electing him ? 

9. Who was James G. Birney? 10. How did President Tyler 
offend the Whig party? What was the effect on Tyler’s Cabinet? Why 
did Webster remain in the Cabinet? ii. What did Tyler do to 
promote the annexation of Texas? 12. What did Calhoun do for 
annexation? 13. How did Great Britain feel about slavery in Texas? 
What did Calhoun think of this? 14. What was Calhoun’s motive in 
working for annexation? 15. What influence did Calhoun’s policy 
and the annexation of Texas have on subsequent disputes over slavery? 
16. Tell how annexation was brought about, and state the conditions on 
which Texas came into the Union. 

17. What was meant by the Oregon country in the early part of the 
nineteenth century? What nations claimed territorial rights in that 
region? 18. State the basis of the American claim to Oregon. Of 
the British claim. 19. How did Great Britain and the United States 
settle their conflicting claims for a while, from i8i8to 1838? 20. What 

position did the Democratic party take on the Oregon question in 1844? 
21. Tell how the Oregon dispute was finally and peaceably settled. 

22. State the causes of the Mexican War. 23. What territory 
did Texas claim? 24. Tell how President Polk brought on the war. 
What claim did he make as to territory, and why did he say Mexico 
caused the war? 25. Why was Congress under obligation to support 
Polk? 26. Do you think our government was to blame for the 
Mexican War? Why? 27. Give an account of General Taylor’s 
campaign. Of General Scott’s campaign. Of the conquest of Cali- 
fornia and New Mexico. 28. Name the principal battles of the 
Mexican war and locate the places on the map. . 29. State how the 
war ended, giving the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 

Chapter XXIX 

I. How did the slavery question come to the front during the Mexi- 
can War? 2. What was the Wilmot Proviso ? Explain its importance. 

3. Name the parties, issues, and candidates in the election of 1848. 

4. Give an account of the discovery of gold in California. 5. How 
was California’s admission to the Union related to the slavery question? 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


lix 


6. Name the questions in dispute between the North and the South in 

1850. 7. How were these various questions settled by Clay’s com- 
promise measures ? 8. State the Southern view on the rights of slave 

property in the territories. The antislavery view. The compromise 
view. 9. What was President Taylor’s plan for the treatment of the 
territories? 10. What did Calhoun think was necessary in order to 
save the Union in 1850? State WebstePs position on the compro- 
mise, as voiced in his famous Seventh of March Speech.” What was 
Seward’s position? ii. Give an account of the election of 1852.. 

12. Describe the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, and tell how it was 
received in the North. What was the ‘‘underground railroad”? 

13. Of what historical importance was Mrs. Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s 
Cabin ” ? 

Chapter XXX 

I. What was the Kansas-Nebraska Bill? Who was its author? What 
reason did he give for offering the bill, and what did he say was its pur. 
pose? 2. Give four reasons why the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was impor- 
tant as seen in its results. 3. What was the “ Appeal of the Independent 
Democrats ”? The Ostend Manifesto? 4. Explain the effect of the 
Kansas-Nebraska Act on political parties. 5. Give a brief account of 
the struggle for Kansas, explaining the work of the “border ruffians” 
and the “New England Emigrant Aid Society.” 6. Give an account 
of the assault on Senator Sumner, 1856, and indicate its significance. 

7. Give an account of the election of 1856. Who were the “Know- 
nothings,” and what were their principles? 

Chapter XXXI 

I. What were the two long-standing disputes over slavery that came 
up to the Supreme Court for settlement in 1857? 2. Give an account 

of the Dred Scott case, and give three important points involved in 
the decision of the Supreme Court in that case. 3. How did the 
Dred Scott decision touch the primary principle of the Republican 
party? How did it support the Southern view of slavery? 4. Explain 
the question involved in the Lecompton struggle. 5. Give an account 
of Lincoln and Douglas, and the issues involved in the famous Lincoln- 
Douglas debate in 1858. 6. Give an account of John Brown’s raid, 

and tell how it helped to bring on the war. 7. Give an account of 


lx 


APPENDIX 


the election of i860. Name the four parties and state the attitude of 
each on the subject of slavery in the territories. 8. Explain the 
historical significance of Lincoln’s election in i860. 

Chapter XXXII 

I. Why was South Carolina the first state to secede? Give an account 
of her action. What reasons did she give? What did the Southern 
. people believe about their allegiance to their state ? 2. Give an 

account of the formation of the Southern Confederacy. 3. What was 
President Buchanan’s position on secession and coercion ? Give an 
account of the divisions in his Cabinet, and tell how the South first 
resisted national authority. 4. Give an account of the Crittenden 
Compromise and of other attempts to save the Union without war. 
What was the final position of the North? 

Chapter XXXIII 

I. Give a brief biography of Abraham Lincoln. Give his position on 
the slavery question and on equal rights for all men. Would he have 
interfered with slavery in the South? 2. Show that slavery was the 
cause of the Civil War. Tell what the North was fighting for in the war. 
What the South was fighting for. How could slavery be the cause of the 
war and not the object oi the war ? 3. Give an account of the attack on 

Fort Sumter and its effect upon the North. 4. Compare the strength 
of the two sections, North and South, at the beginning of the Civil War. 
5. Of what importance was the secession of Virginia? Show how the 
country was unprepared for war. 6. What were the first military 
objects in view on each side ? Explain the importance of the Shenan- 
doah valley. 7. Give an account of the battle of Bull Run, and tell 
how ‘^Stonewall” Jackson got his name. What were the effects of this 
battle ? 8. What important work did General McClellan perform 

for the Army of the Potomac ? 9. Explain the importance of the 

blockade of the Southern ports, and tell how it was carried out. Give 
an account of the fight between the Monitor and the Merrimac^ and tell 
why it was important. 10. Give an account of the Trent Affair, and 
state the attitude of Great Britain toward the United States. 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


Ixi 


Chapter XXXIV 

I. Give three purposes of the Federal forces in the campaign in the 
West. 2. Tell how Missouri was saved for the Union. State the 

position of Kentucky in the war. 3. Show the importance of 
the control of the rivers in the war. 4. Give an account of the 
campaign against Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. 5. Trace on the 
map the Confederate lines of defense before and after this campaign, 
and explain the results of the Union victory at Fort Donelson. 6. Give 
an account of the battle of Shiloh and of the capture of New Orleans. 
Locate Shiloh and Corinth. 7. Locate on the map the following 
battle fields, and give the date and result of each battle : Perryville, Mill 
Springs, Murfreesboro. 8. Give an account of McClellan’s Penin- 
sular Campaign, naming the principal battles and giving the general 
result. 9. Locate the scene of the following battles, giving the result 
in each case : Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg. 
10. What did President Lincoln regard as the purpose of the war? 
How did this influence his policy toward slavery ? ii. Who declared 
the slaves contraband of war ” ? Why did he do so ? Explain the 
meaning of this. 12. Name some antislavery acts of Congress and 
of the President before Emancipation. 13. Give the meaning of the 
Emancipation Proclamation, and tell how it came to be issued. 
14. What was the extent of the party opposition to the war in the 
North ? What were the reasons for this opposition ? What effect did 
it have in 1862 ? 

Chapter XXXV 

I. Give an account of the battle of Gettysburg, and show its impor- 
tance. 2. Commit to memory and recite Lincoln’s famous speech at 
Gettysburg. 3. Give an account of the fall of Vicksburg, the battle 
of Chickamauga, and the fighting around Chattanooga. 4. Give an 
account of Grant’s campaign against Lee around Richmond in 1864. 

5. Give an account of Sheridan’s work in the Shenandoah valley. 

6. Who were the Peace Democrats,” and what did they dislike in 
the conduct of the war? Give an account of the election of 1864. 

7. Give an account of Sherman’s capture of Atlanta and his march to 

the sea. Of what special importance were these events ? 8. Give 

an account of General Thomas and his army in the battles of Franklin 


Ixii 


APPENDIX 


and Nashville. 9. Tell of Farragut’s operations in Mobile Bay. 

10. Give an account of the Confederate privateer, the Alabama. 

11. Give an account of the capture of Richmond and the surrender of 
Lee at Appomattox. 12. Give an account of the assassination of 
President Lincoln. 13. What maybe said of the cost of the war ?, 
Show how the South suffered especially. 14. Recite four notable 
results of the Civil War. 15. Giv^e an account of the grand parade 
of the Union armies in 1865, and tell how the soldiers retired to the 

patriotism of peace.” 

Chapter XXXVI 

I. Of what did the problem of Reconstruction consist? What was 
Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction? 2. What was the character of 
Andrew Johnson, and what was his plan of Reconstruction ? 3. Give 

four reasons why Congress rejected President Johnson’s plan. 4. 
Explain the character of the vagrarfcy laws of the South passed in 1865. 
5. What was the Freedmen’s Bureau ? What objections were raised to 
its management ? 6. What is meant by conferring civil rights on the 

negro ? Why was this done ? 7. What were the results of the war 

that the Northern Republicans wanted to make secure ? How was the 
question of representation concerned in the matter ? 8. Give fully 

the provisions of the fourteenth amendment. 

9. How was Reconstruction an issue in the elections of 1866? 
What was the effect of President Johnson’s swinging round the circle ” ? 

10. State the provisions of the Reconstruction Acts of Congress, 
1867. Who was the leader of Congress in the passage of these acts? 

11. Define the Tenure of Office Act, and describe the impeachment of 

President Johnson. 12. Give an account of the election of 1868. 
13. Describe the work of the Reconstruction governments in the South 
after 1867. Define ‘^scalawag,” ‘‘carpetbagger,” “bulldozer,” “ Ku 
Klux Klan,” “Force Bills.” 14. Give the process by which the 
Southern whites again obtained control of their state governments. 
15. What do you think was the principal mistake in Reconstruction? 
Why? 16. Give an account of the election of 1872. 17. What 

political scandals arose under Grant’s administration? 18. Describe 
the panic of 1873 and the hard times following. 19. Explain the rise 
of the Greenback party. 20. Give an account of the election of 
1876. Tell how the Electoral Commission of 1876-1877 was made up, 
and how it voted. 


CHAPTER REVIEWS 


Ixiii 


Chapter XXXVII 

I. Why is Hayes’s administration the opening of a new era? 

2. Tell what you can of the ‘‘resumption of specie payment ” in 1879. 

3. What circumstances led to the death of Garfield? 4. Tell what 

you can of the Pendleton Act of 1883. 5. Why was the Presidential 

succession law of 1886 passed? 6. Why was the Interstate Commerce 
Commission established? 7. What is the Australian Ballot System? 
8. Under what tariff act are we now living? What is the general rate 
of duties ? 9. What is Senator Lodge’s plan for the restriction of 

immigration? 10. Explain the causes of the Spanish- American War. 
II. What were the terms of the Treaty of Peace of 1898? 12. Why 

did the Filipinos rebel against the United States? 13. When and 
why were the Hawaiian Islands annexed ? 14. What is the importance 

of a canal across the Isthmus of Panama? 


Ixiv 


APPENDIX 


REFERENCES 

Chapter II 

C. K. Adams, ^^Christopher Columbus,” 1-33 (Early Life); 34-73 (At- 
tempt to get Assistance); 74-128 (First Voyage); 235-257 (Character). 
T. W. Higginson, “ Young Folks’ Book of American Explorers,” 3-15 (Norse- 
men) ; 19-52 (Columbus); 121-140 (De Soto). N. D’Anvers, ‘^Heroes of 
American Discovery.” Edward Eggleston, ^^The Household History of the 
United States and its People,” 1-14 (Discovery). C. C. Coffin, “Old Times 
in the Colonies,” 2-36 (Discovery). Higginson and MacDonald, “ History of 
the United States,” 25-49 (Norsemen) ; 50-72 (Spanish Explorers) ; 73-83 
(Cabot); 83-103 (Sea Rovers). G. C. Eggleston, “ Our First Century,” 1-7 
(Discovery and Exploration). Thwaites, “Colonies,” 21-23 (Norsemen); 
23-32 (Discovery and Exploration). Cheyney, “European Background of 
American History,” 3-21 (East and West) ; 22-40 (Trade Routes) ; 41-59 
(Italian Explorers); 60-78 (Portuguese). E. G. Bourne, “Spain in Amer- 
ica,” 3-7 (Preliminaries of Discovery) ; 8-19 (Preparations of Columbus) ; 
20-32 (Discovery) ; 33-53 (Columbus) ; 54-66 (Cabot) ; 84-103 (Naming of 
America); 115-132 (Magellan); 133-148, 149-174 (Exploration of Interior) ; 
175-189 (Florida). Edward Channing, “History of the United States,” Vol. 
I, 1-25 (Columbus) ; 33-54 (Cabot, Vespucius, Magellan). John Fiske, 
“ Discovery of America,” Vol. I, 148-255 (Norsemen) ; 335-446 (Discovery) ; 
Vol. II, 184-212 (Magellan). Columbus, “'Writings,” P. L. Ford, editor. 

Chapter III 

Thwaites, “Colonies,” 2-7. L. Farrand, “Basis of American History,” 
3-22, 23-38. J. D. Whitney, “The United States,” 1-28 (Physical Geogra- 
phy and Geology). Ellen Churchill Semple, “American Historical and Geo- 
graphic Conditions,” 19-35 (Rivers); see map opposite p. 28 for Portages; 
36-51 (Appalachian Barrier); 52-74 (Westward Movement); 178-199 
(Southern Routes to West) ; 201-224 (Northern Trails to Far West) ; 247- 
278 (Inland Waterways) ; 337-365 (Cities and Industries). 

Chapter IV 

E. Eggleston, “Household History of the United States,” 14-20 (Sea 
Rovers) ; 20-36 (Jamestown) ; 52-57 (Md. and the Carolinas) ; 63-69 (Ga.) ; 
91-113 (Colonial Life); 148-158 (Government of Colonies). Coffin, “Old 


REFERENCES 


Ixv 


Times in the Colonies,” 37-53 (Colonial Customs) ; 54-71 (First Settle- 
ments) ; 72-86 (Affairs in England) ; 87-96, 96-110 (Va. and the North) ; 
259-264 (Va.); 293-296 (Md.); 337"349 (Carolinas) ; 350-356 (Ga.). 
Higginson, “Young Folks’ Book of American Explorers,” 169-174 (Sir H. 
Gilbert); 177-200 (Raleigh); 231-265 (John Smith and Va.). Higginson 
and MacDonald, “ History of the United States,” 129-143. E. Eggleston, 
“The Beginners of a Nation,” 1-15 (Sea Rovers) ; 25-31 (Jamestown); 31- 
40 (John Smith) ; 40-59 (Later Governors) ; 220-257 (Md.). G. C. Eggles- 
ton, “Our P'irst Century,” 7-20 (Sea Rovers); 21-29 (Jamestown); 30-36 
(John Smith) ; 37-40 (Life in Jamestown) ; 41-60 (Later Governors) ; 106- 
iio (Md.); 115-128 (Carolinas). Fiske, “Old Virginia and her Neighbors,” 
Vol. I, 1-40 (Sea Rovers); 41-79,80-118 (Jamestown); 119-155 (Starving 
Time) ; 255-285 (Md.) ; Vol. II, 131-173 (Later Md.) ; 174-269 (Life in Va.) ; 
270-337 (Carolinas). Goldwin Smith, “The United States,” 39-52. John 
E. Cooke, “ Stories of the Old Dominion.” Thwaites, “ Colonies,” 36-42 
(Sea Rovers) ; 45-53 (Colonial Policies of European States) ; 65-81 (Va.) ; 
81-89 (Md.) ; 89-95 (Carolinas); 96-111 (Social Life); 258-263 (Ga.). 
Channing, “History of the United States,” Vol. I, 1 15-140 (Sea Rovers); 
143-172 (Jamestown); 176-202, 205-236 (Va.) ; 240-268 (Md.). Paul S. 
Reinsch, “ Colonial Government.” 


Chapter V 

Higginson, “Young Folks’ Book of American Explorers,” 203-213 (Gos- 
nold) ; 222-228 (Popham Colony); 31 1-337 (Pilgrims); 341-361 (Mass. 
Bay Col.) ; S. A. Drake, “ The Making of New England,” 1-39 (Early Colo- 
nies) ; 58-66 (Naming of New England) ; 67-103 (Pilgrims) ; 104-119 (Bos- 
ton Bay); 1 19-130 (Me.); 130-148 (N.H.) ; 149-186 (Puritans); 187-193 
(Conn.) ; 194-203 (R.L) ; 203-213 (Pequot War). Edward Everett Hale, 
“The Story of Massachusetts,” 20-43 (Pilgrims) ; 44~49 (Pilgrims at Plym- 
outh) ; 50-59 (Mass. Bay Col. founded) ; 60-74 (First Winter) ; 75-89 

(Boston Common); 90-115 (Anne Hutchinson); 116-129 (Industry and 
Commerce) ; 145-161 (Indian Wars) ; 162-175 (Andros) ; 176-185 (Salem 
Witchcraft). E. Eggleston, “Household History of the United States,” 37-47 
(Pilgrims). Coffin, “Old Times in the Colonies,” 111-126 (Pilgrims) ; 129- 
140 (Plymouth) ; 141-151 (N.H. and N.Y.) ; 1 52-1 70 (Coming of Puritans) ; 
171-183 (Puritans in N.E.) ; 184-194 (R.L and N.H.) ; 195-205 (Manhat- 
tan) ; 206-215 (Cromwell) ; 241-250 (King Philip’s War) ; 265-270 (Andros) ; 
303-317 (Witchcraft) ; 328-336 (Me. and N.H.). Higginson and MacDon- 
ald, “ History of the United States,” 145-159. E. Eggleston, “ Beginners of a 
Nation,” 141-157 (Puritans and Separatists); 159-181 (Pilgrims); 188-215 
(Puritan Exodus) ; 266-306 (R. Williams) ; 315-346 (Conn.). G. C. Eggles- 
ton, “ Our First Century,” 61-81 (Early Colonies in Mass.) ; 82-84 (Me. and 


Ixvi 


APPENDIX 


N.H.) ; 89-95 (Conn, and R.I.) ; 96-100 (N.E. Confederation); 111-114 
(King Philip’s War). Thwaites, Colonies,” 1 13-124 (Plymouth); 124-132 
(Mass. Bay) ; 132-136 (Williams and Mrs. Hutchinson) ; 136-137 (Pequot 
War); 140-146 (Conn.) ; 146-150 (R.I.) ; 150-152 (Me.) ; .152-1 53 (N.H.) ; 
154-177 (N.E. 1643-1700) ; 179-194 (Social Life in N.E.). G. Smith, The 
United States,” 1-39. Channing, History of the United States,” Vol. I, 271- 
291, 293-317 (Pilgrims) ; 322-351 (Puritan Exodus) ; 356-380 (Williams and 
Mrs. Hutchinson); 382-411 (R.I. and Conn.); 414-436 (N.E. Confedera- 
tion). Fiske, ‘‘ Beginnings of New England,” 1-49 (Colonization); 50-87 
(Puritan Exodus) ; 88-139 (N.E. founded); 140-198 (N.E. Confederation); 
199-241 (King Philip’s War) ; 242-278 (Andros). Fiske, ‘^American Political 
Ideas,” 2-56 (Town Meeting). Fiske, Essays,” Vol. I, 3-51 (Thomas Hutch- 
inson). Alice Morse Earle, ‘‘Customs and Fashions in Old New England.” 

Chapter VI 

Higginson, “Young Folks’ Book of American Explorers,” 281-287 (Hud- 
son and New Netherland). G. C. Eggleston, “Our First Century,” 84-88 
(Hudson); 101-105 (New Netherland); 129-138 (N.J. and Penn.). E. 
Eggleston, “Household History of the United States,” 47-52 (N.Y.) ; 58-62 
(N.J. and Penn.). Coffin, “Old Times in the Colonies,” 216-223 (The 
Friends) ; 224-233 (Conquest of New Netherland) ; 291-293 (N.J.) ; 297-302 
(Penn.). E. S. Brooks, “The Story of New York,” 11-32 (Hudson); 33-52 
(New Amst.) ; 53-76 (English Rule). Higginson and MacDonald, “ His- 
tory of the United States,” 143-145. G. Smith, “ The United States,” 53- 
63. Thwaites, “Colonies,” 53-55 (Character of Colonists); 196-207 (New 
Amst. and N.Y.) ; 207-210 (Del.) ; 210-214 (N.J.) ; 214-217 (Penn.) ; 218- 
232 (Social Life). Fiske, “Dutch and Quaker Colonies,” Vol. I, 1-29 (Me- 
dieval Netherlands); 80-95 (Hudson); 96-126 (West India Co.); 127-294 
(New Amst.) ; Vol. II, 1-61 (N.J.) ; 99-127 (Penn.) ; 258-293 (Society in 
N.Y.). Channing, “History of the United States,” Vol. I, 438-459 (Hudson 
and New Amst.) ; 461-483 (Stuyvesant) ; 510-537 (Colonies in 1660). 


Chapter VII 

S. A. Drake, “The Making of New England,” 214-243. G. C. Eggleston, 
“Our First Century,” 180-191 (Colonial Industries); 191-203 (Education); 
204-218 (Social Life) ; 218-228 (Slavery) ; 229-238 (Colonial Customs) ; 
239-242 (Witchcraft) ; 243-253 (Commerce). Higginson and MacDonald, 
“History of the United States,” 184-207. Thwaites, “Colonies,” 265-284. 
Hart, “ Formation of the Union,” 2-21. Thomas Nelson Page, “The Old 
South,” 95-139 (Life in Colonial Virginia). Alice Morse Earle, “Colonial 
Days in Old New York.” 


REFERENCES 


Ixvii 


Chapter VIII 

S. A. Drake, ^^The Making of New England,” 40-48 (Discovery of Lake 
Champlain). S. A. Drake, “The Border Wars of New England,” 9-138 
(King William’s War) ; 141-294 (Queen Anne’s War). Edward Everett 
Hale, “The Story of Massachusetts,” 186-205 (French and Indian Wars); 
206-237 (Louisburg). Edward Eggleston, “Household History of the United 
States,” 1 13-139 (French Wars). Coffin, “Old Times in the Colonies,” 251- 
258 (Frontenac) ; 271-288 (King William’s War) ; 363-453 (French and 
Indian War). G. C. Eggleston, “Our First Century,” 160-170 (French Ex- 
plorers) ; 171-179 (King William’s War). Higginson and MacDonald, “ His- 
tory of the United States,” 104-128 (Champlain and Others) ; 160-183 (French 
and Indian Wars). Higginson, “Young Folks’ Book of American Explorers,” 
99-117 (Cartier) ; 143-166 (French in Florida) ; 269-278 (Champlain). J. K. 
Hosmer, “A Short History of the Mississippi Valley,” 51-74. Thwaites, 
“George Rogers Clark,” 277-295 (“A Day on Braddock’s Road”). James 
Grant Wilson (editor), “The Presidents of the United States,” 1-35 (Wash- 
ington). E. E. Sparks, “The Men who made the Nation,” 1-46 (Franklin). 
Thwaites, “ Colonies,” 32-36 (French Explorers) ; 246-252 (Founding of New 
France); 252-255 (French Wars). Hart, “Formation of the Union,” 23-24 
(English and French Claims) ; 27-28 (Comparative Strength) ; 28-30 (Albany 
Congress); 30-34 (Military Operations); 34-41 (Results). G. Smith, “ The 
United States,” 64-67. Fiske, “ Essays,” Vol. II, 71-122 (Fall of New France). 
John T. Morse, Jr., “Benjamin Franklin” (American Statesmen Series). 
Channing, “ History of the United States,” Vol. I, 90-110 (French Explorers). 
Francis Parkman, “The Pioneers of France in the New World,” Part II, 
Chapters II, IV, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XVI, XVII. Parkman, “Fron- 
tenac and New France.” Parkman, “A Half Century of Conflict,” 2 vols. 
(up to French and Indian War). Parkman, “Montcalm and Wolfe,” 2 vols. 
(French and Indian War). 


Chapter IX 

G. E. Howard, “Preliminaries of the Revolution,” 47-67 (British Trade 
Laws and the Colonial System) ; 22-46 (The British Empire under George 
HI). Johnston and Woodburn’s “ American Orations,” Vol. I, 11-17 (Otis 
and Writs of Assistance). A. B. Hart, “American History Told by Contem- 
poraries,” Vol. II, 394-412 (The Stamp Act Controversy). M. C. Tyler, “Life 
of Patrick Henry,” 57-79 (Henry in the Virginia Burgesses). James K. Hos- 
mer, “Life of Samuel Adams,” 196-206 (Committee of Correspondence). 
Higginson and MacDonald, “ History of the United States,” 208-230 (The 
British Yoke) ; 242-249 (Bunker Hill) ; 253-266 (Debate on the Declaration 
of Independence) . A. B. Hart, “Formation of the Union,” 56-60 (Violence 
in the Colonies, Coercive Acts of Parliament). John Fiske, “ American Rev- 


Ixviii 


APPENDIX 


olution,” Vol. I, 85-94 (The Boston Tea Party). ^‘The Cambridge Modern 
History,” Vol. VII (The United States), 144-174 (The Quarrel with Great 
Britain). H. W. Elson, ‘^History of the United States,” 222-224 (Otis and 
Henry). J. T. Morse, ^‘Life of John Adams,” 50-81 (The First Continental 
Congress). W. E. H. Lecky, American Revolution,” 138-152 (Franklin and 
the Hutchinson Letters). W. M. Sloane, ‘^The French War and the Revolu- 
tion,” 142-153 (Townshend’s Measures of Taxation). H. C. Lodge, ‘^The 
Story of the American Revolution,” Vol. I, 1-24 (The First Step). J. M. 
Ludlow, ‘‘The War of American Independence,” 64-90 (Causes of Discon- 
tent). E. E. Sparks, “The Men who made the Nation,” 79-118 (John 
Adams, the Defender of Independence). 

For further topics and references see Winsor’s “ Reader’s Handbook of the 
American Revolution.” 

Chapter X 

Claude H. Van Tyne, ‘^The American Revolution,” 50-65 (The Spirit of 
Independence). M. C. Tyler, “ Literary History of the American Revolution,” 
Vol. I, 454-474 (Thomas Paine and “Common Sense”). G. O. Trevelyan, 
“ The American Revolution,” Part II, Vol. I, 31-50 (The Hessians). Herbert 
Friedenwald, “The Declaration of Independence,” 121-151 (Adopting and 
Signing the Declaration). A. B. Hart, “ Source Book of American History,” 
147-149 (Drafting the Declaration). William MacDonald, “Select Documents 
Illustrative of American History, 1606-1775,” 374-381 (Causes of Taking up 
Arms). Henry S. Randall, “ Life of Jefferson,” Vol. I, 164-186 (The Author 
of the Declaration and a facsimile copy). Edward Channing, “Students’ 
History of the United States,” 198-206 (Growth toward Independence). 

Chapter XI 

John Fiske, “The American Revolution,” Vol. I, 227-240 (Trenton and 
Princeton) ; Vol. II, 25-48 (Washington at Valley Forge). H, C. Lodge, 
“The Story of the American Revolution,” Vol. II, 1-28 (How the West was 
Saved); 56-82 (King’s Mountain and Cowpens). C. H. Van Tyne, “ The 
American Revolution,” 1 57-1 74 (Burgoyne’s Campaign) ; 248-268 (Civil War 
between Whigs and Tories). Hart’s “ Source Book of American History,” 
154-157 (Hard Fighting at Saratoga). Hart’s “Contemporaries,” Vol. II, 
587-590 (John Paul Jones and a Desperate Sea Fight). H. W. Elson, 
“History of the United States,” 290-294. (Border War in the South 
and West). J. T. Morse, “ Life of Franklin, 264-299 (French Aid and 
Alliance); also Bigelow’s “Life of Franklin,” Vol. II, 371-416; and 
Fiske’s “American Revolution,” Vol. II, 1-24. H. C. Lodge, “Life 
of Washington,” Vol. I, 264-292 (Arnold’s Treason and the War in 
the South). J. M. Ludlow, “War of American Independence,” 194-199 
(Cornwallis in Virginia, Surrender at Yorktown). Theodore Roosevelt, 


REFERENCES 


Ixix 


^^The Winning of the West,” 17-25 (Boone and the Long Hunters) ; 72-83 
(Clark’s Campaign against Vincennes) . Justin Winsor, “ Narrative and Critical 
History of America,” Vol. VI, 470-507 (The War in the South). William Jay, 
Life of John Jay” (Peace Negotiations of 1782-1783) ; also Morse’s Life 
of Adams”; Bigelow’s Life of Franklin”; Pellew’s ‘‘Life of Jay”; John 
Adams’s “Works,” Vol. 1 . 


Chapter XII 

C . H. Van Tyne, “ The American Revolution,” 136-156 (Framing New State 
Governments) ; 175-202 (Making the Confederation). A. C. McLaughlin, 
“The Confederation and the Constitution,” 53-70 (Poverty and Peril); 
71-88 (Commercial and Financial Conditions) ; 154-167 (Shays’s Rebellion) ; 
108-122 (Government for the Northwest). John Fiske, “ The Critical Period 
of American History,” 134-164 (Drifting toward Anarchy). E. E. Sparks, 
‘‘The Expansion of the American People,” 118-134 (Peopling the Northwest 
Territory); 149-158 (Pioneer Life.in the Ohio Valley). Hart’s “Contempo- 
raries,” Vol. Ill, 126-130 (How the States treated the Confederation) ; 131^137 
(Defects of the Confederation) ; 191-194 (Shays’s Rebellion). Gaillard Hunt, 
“Life of Madison,” 54-66 (The Mississippi Question); 108-115 (Preparing 
for the Great Convention). J. T. Morse, “Life of Hamilton,” Vol. I, 78-140 
(The Congress of the Old Confederation). E. E. Sparks, “The United 
States,” 64-84 (The Failure of the Confederacy). B. A. Hinsdale, “The 
Old Northwest,” 263-279 (The Ordinance of 1787). James Schouler, “His- 
tory of the United States,” Vol. 1 , 16-17 (Defects of the Confederation) ; 24-28 
(Influence of Hamilton and Madison). J. B. McMaster, “History of the 
People of the United States,” Vol. I, 1-50 (Schools, Travel, Trade, and Living 
in 1783). 

Chapter XIII 

A. C. McLaughlin, “The Confederation and the. Constitution,” 201-220 
(Shall the Confederation be Patched Up ?) ; 221-235 (The Great Compro- 
mise) ; 277-297 (The Constitution before the People). Fiske’s “Critical 
Period,” 340-344 (Origin of the Federalist). J. T. Morse, “Life of Hamil- 
ton,” 248-268 (How Hamilton defended the Constitution in New York). 
Woodrow Wilson, “History of the American People,” Vol. Ill, 66-100 
(Founding a Federal Government; Ratifying the Constitution). Gaillard 
Hunt, “Life of Madison,” 116-136 (The Great Convention). J. B. McMas- 
ter, “ History of the People of the United States,” Vol. I, 440-446 (Debates 
in the Convention). James Schouler, “ History of the United States,” Vol. I, 
40-51 (Men, Plans, and Compromises of the Convention). Francis A. Walker, 
“The Making of the Nation,” 21-40 (The Issues of the Convention). A. B. 
Hart, “Formation of the Union,” 122-125 (Difficulties of the Convention; 
Sources of the Constitution). A. C. McLaughlin, “ History of the American 


Ixx 


APPENDIX 


Nation,” 224-229 (Parties and Slavery in the Convention). Hart’s ‘^Contem- 
poraries,” Vol. Ill, 2 1 4-22 1 (Debate on Slavery and the Slave Trade) ; 221- 
228 (The Closing Scene of the Convention). These latter are extracts from 
Madison’s “ Journal of the Convention.” See also the “ Cambridge Modern 
History,” Vol. VII ; Hildreth, “ History of the United States,” Vol. HI ; Ban- 
croft, “ History of the United States,” VI. 

Chapters XIV-XX 

James Bryce, “The American Commonwealth,” Vol. I, 15-18 (The Nation 
and the States); 38-52 (The President); 97-105 (The Senate); 124-143 
(The House of Representatives); 228-240 (The Federal Courts); 411-426 
(Nature of the American State). Roscoe L. Ashley, “ The American Federal 
State,” 94-97, 121-126 (The Confederation and the Constitution Compared). 
B. A. Hinsdale, “The American Government,” 236-242 (How the Union is 
Limited) ; 243-247 (How the States are Limited) ; James A. Woodburn, 
“ The American Republic and its Government,” 47-58 (Forms of Govern- 
ment) ; 145-154 (The Veto); 156-167 (Treaty Making) ; 214-222 (Elec- 
tion of United States Senators). Thomas F. Moran, “The English 
Government,” 3-8 (English and American Institutions Compared). Wood- 
row Wilson, “ Congressional Government,” 148-161 (Appropriations in Con- 
gress). Edmund Alton, “Among the Lawmakers,” 88-99 (Counting the 
Electoral Vote); 109-113 (An Inauguration); 165-173 (Filibustering in 
Congress). 

BOOKS ON CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Benjamin Harrison, “This Country of Ours.” 

W. W. Willoughby, “The Rights and Duties of American Citizenship.” 
Charles F. Dole, “The American Citizen.” 

S. S. Clark, “The Government: What it Is, What it Does.” 

James T. McCleary, “Studies in Civics.” 

John Fiske, “Civil Government in the United States.” 

Strong and Schafer, “The Government of the American People.” 

Jesse Macy, “Our Government.” 

Anna Dawes, “ How we are Governed.” 

F. D. Boynton, “ School Civics.” 

James and Sanford, “ Government in State and Nation.” 

B. A. Hinsdale, “ The American Government.” 

Chapter XXI 

Higginson and MacDonald, “History of the United States,” 296-319 
(Washington) ; 320-329 (Adams). Hart, “Formation of the Union,” 137-146 
(Organization of the New Government) ; 146-151 (Hamilton’s Financial Plan) ; 


REFERENCES 


Ixxi 


155-164 (Washington) ; 164-175 (Adams). G. Smith, ^‘^The United States,” 
130-155. F. A. Walker, The Making of the Nation,” 62-72 (Starting the 
Government); 73-114 (Washington’s First Term); 115-136 (Washington’s 
Second Term) ; 137-167 (Adams) ; 168-189 (Jefferson’s First Term) ; 190-213 
(Jefferson’s Second Term); 214-249 (War of 1812); 250-273 (Madison). 
Alma Holman Burton, ^^Four American Patriots,” 71-130 (Hamilton). E. 
Eggleston, Household History of the United States,” 213-221 (Washington) ; 
221-225 (Adams). E. E. Sparks, ^^The United States,” Vol. I, 1 22-145 
(Starting the Government); 146-164 (Implied Powers); 165-186 (Central- 
ization); 202-221 (French against English); 222-243 (Adams); 243-258 
(Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions). E. E. Sparks, “The Men who made 
the Nation,” 79-118 (Adams) ; 151-180 (Hamilton) ; 181-217 (Washington). 
J. G. Wilson, “The Presidents of the United States,” 36-61 (Adams). 
Fiske, “American Political Ideas,” 57-100 (Federal Union). Fiske, “Essays,” 
Vol. I, 101-142 (Hamilton). E. Stanwood, “History of the Presidency.” 
Lodge, “George Washington.” Morse, “John Adams.” Lodge, “Alexander 
Hamilton.” Magruder, “John Marshall.” Pellew, “John Jay.” Wilson, 
“ George Washington.” 

Chapter XXIII 

Higginson and MacDonald, “ History of the United States,” 329-342 (Jef- 
ferson) ; 342-362 (Madison and War of 1812) ; 363-385 (Monroe and Era of 
Good Feeling). Hart, “Formation of the Union,” 176-198 (Jefferson) ; 200- 
222 (Madison); 223-244 (Monroe). Sparks, “The United States,” Vol. I, 
259-276 (Advent of Democracy); 311-335 (War of 1812). Sparks, “The 
Men who made the Nation,” 218-224 (Jefferson). E. E. Hale, “Story of 
Massachusetts,” 310-319 (War of 1812). Hosmer, “ Mississippi Valley,” 1 18- 
127 (Louisiana Purchase). Wilson, “The Presidents of the United States,” 
62-87 (Jefferson); 88-106 (Madison); 107-119 (Monroe). Goldwin Smith, 
“The United States,” 155-165 (Jefferson); 165-175 (Madison); 175-191 
(Monroe). Morse, “ Thomas Jefferson.” Gay, “ James Madison.” Gilman, 
“James Monroe.” Stevens, “Albert Gallatin.” E. Eggleston, “Household 
History of the United States,” 225-242 (Jefferson) ; 242-263 (War of 1812). 
Fiske, “Essays,” Vol. I, 145-181 (Jefferson) ; 185-218 (Madison). R. John- 
son, “ War of 1812.” 


Chapter XXIV 

Higginson and MacDonald, “ History of the United States,” 386-4io(Adams 
and Westward Movement). Hart, “Formation of the Union,” 245-262. 
Goldwin Smith, “The United States,” 191-195. Sparks, “The United 
States,” Vol. I, 401-425. Sparks, “The Men who made the Nation,” 225- 
281 (Clay). Wilson, “The Presidents of the United States,” 120-136 (J. Q. 
Adams). Morse, “John Quincy Adams.” 


APPENDIX 


Ixxii 


Chapter XXV 

Higginson and MacDonald, History of the United States,” 41 1-433 (Old 
Hickory); 455-462 (Van Buren). E. Eggleston, ‘‘Household History of 
the United States,” 263-268 (Westward Expansion) ; 269-281 (Rise of 
National Democracy). Woodrow Wilson, ^‘Division and Reunion,” 2-21 ' 
(A New Epoch); 23-92 (Jackson); 93-115 (Van Buren). Sparks, The 
Men who made the Nation,” 282-317 (Jackson) ; 318-346 (Webster). Sparks, 
The United States,” Vol. II, 1-18, 49-64 (Nullification). J. G. Wilson, 
‘^The Presidents of the United States,” 137-168 (Jackson); 169-184 (Van 
Buren). James Baldwin, Four Great Americans,” 125-184 (Webster). Gold- 
win Smith, ‘^The United States,” 195-205 (Jackson) ; 205-208 (Van Buren). 
Fiske, “Essays,” Vol. I, 221-264 (Jackson) ; 267-313 (Democracy). Roose- 
velt, “Thomas H. Benton.” Von Holst, “John C. Calhoun.” Lodge, 
‘^Daniel Webster.” Schurz, “Henry Clay.” Shepard, “Van Buren.” 
Sumner, “Andrew Jackson.” 


Chapter XXVI 

Higginson and MacDonald, “History of the United States,” 370-375 (Mis- 
souri disturbs the “Era of Good Feeling”). E. E. Sparks, “The United 
States,” Vol. I, 378-382 (Sectional Discord over Territory). H. W. Elson, 
“ History of the United States,” 456-462 (The Missouri Compromise). Ed- 
ward Eggleston, “Household History of the United States,” 266-268 (Debate 
over Missouri). J. P. Gordy, “Political History of the United States,” Vol. 

II, 390-406 (Slavery). James Schouler, “ History of the United States,” Vol. 

III, 101-103 (The Equilibrium Disturbed). Carl Schurz, “Life of Clay,” 
Vol. I, 172-202 (The Missouri Compromise). 

Chapter XXVII 

J. F. Rhodes, “History of the United States,” Vol. I, 53-75 (The Growth 
of Antislavery Sentiment). Oliver Johnson, “Garrison and the Antislavery 
Movement,” 50-66 (The Liberator') ; 147-164, 182-220 (Antislavery Societies, 
Mobs against Abolition). Goldwin Smith, “Garrison, the Moral Crusader,” 
40-72 (Effect of Garrison’s Work). Autobiography of Frederick Douglass, 87- 
95 (Hardship of a Slave’s Life) ; 109-129 (Life with a Slave-Breaker) ; 188-201 
(Escape from Slavery). Woodrow Wilson, “ Division and Reunion,” 1 17-132 
(The Slavery System). Johnston and Woodburn, “American Orations,” 
Vol. I, 102-114 (Wendell Phillips’s Speech on the Murder of Lovejoy). Carl 
Schurz, “Life of Clay,” Vol. II, 69-94 (Clay and Slavery). A. B. Hart, 
“American History told by Contemporaries,” Vol. HI, 597-602 (The Pro- 
slavery Argument); 612-614 (Antislavery Poem, “Massachusetts to Vir- 
ginia,” Whittier). A. B. Hart, “Life of Salmon P. Chase,” 54-102 (The 


REFERENCES 


Ixxiii 


Political Abolitionist) ; and A. B. Hart, ^^Contemporaries,” 608-612. John T. 
Morse, Life of John Quincy Adams,” 244-292 (Adams and the Right of 
Petition). T. H. Benton, Thirty Years in the Senate,” 150-152 (How 
Slade’s Speech on Abolition drove Southern Members from the House). 
Higginson and MacDonald, 434-454 (Abolition). A. B. Hart, Source Book 
of American History,” 244-248 (A Southern Defence of Slavery by Governor 
McDuffie). 

Chapter XXVIII 

Edward Eggleston, Household History of the United States,” 282-295 
(Texas and the Mexican War). E. E. Sparks, ^‘The United States,” 126-148 
(War and Territorial Extension). Higginson and MacDonald, History of the 
United States,” 455-476 (Slavery and New Territory). Henry Bruce, Life 
of Houston,” 84-95 (The Texan Revolution); 1 15-129 (Battle of San Ja- 
cinto). A. M. Williams, Life of Houston,” 137-154 (Fall of the Alamo) ; 
184-207 (Battle of San Jacinto). George P. Garrison, Texas,” 170-188 
(Mexican Misrule) ; 255-268 (Annexation and the Texan Boundary). James 
Schouler, ‘‘History of the United States,” Vol. IV, 504-508 (The Oregon 
Question, Conflict with Great Britain). Thomas H. Benton, “Thirty Years 
in the United States Senate,” Vol. II, 632-638 (How Texas was Brought In). 

Chapter XXIX 

A. B. Hart, “American History told by Contemporaries,” Vol. IV, 43-47 
(A Forty-niner) ; 48-51 (Calhoun on the Danger of Disunion) ; 52-54 
(Webster’s Middle Ground) ; 56-58 (Seward and the Higher Law) ; 80-83 
(Levi Coffin on the Underground Railway). J. F. Rhodes, “History of the 
United States,” Vol. I, 207-213 (Working of the Fugitive Slave Law). James 
Schouler, “History of the United States,” Vol. V, 130-145 (Discovery of 
Gold; California for Freedom). Johnston and Woodburn's “American Ora- 
tions,” Vol. II, 161-219 Webster on the Compromise). T. K. 

Lothrop, “Life of Seward,” 86-105 (Seward’s Great Speech). Horace Gree- 
ley, “American Conflict,” Vol. I, 210-223 (An Era of Slave Hunting). E. E. 
Sparks, “The United States,” Vol. II, 149-172 (Saving the Union by Com- 
promise). Carl Schurz, “Life of Henry Clay,” Vol. II, 315-350 (Clay's Work 
for Compromise). H. W. Elson, “History of the United States,” 566-571 
(Death of Clay and Webster, Fall of the Whig Party). Hay and Nicolay’s 
“ Life of Lincoln,” Vol. I, 310-329 (The Balance of Power and the “ Finality”). 
Woodrow Wilson, “Division and Reunion,” 169-174 (The Compromise of 
1850) ; 174-178 (The Fugitive Slave Law). 

Chapter XXX 

Hart’s “Contemporaries,” Vol. IV, 59-62 (The Poor Whites in the South) ; 
65-72 (Apologies for Slavery) ; 97-99 (Douglas’s Defence of his Bill) ; 


Ixxiv 


APPENDIX 


100-103 (The Birth of a New Party) ; 104-107 (Free Soil Movers to Kansas) ; 
104-118 (Civil War in Kansas). J. W. Burgess, ^*The Middle Period,” 
380-406 (Repeal of the Missouri Compromise). Hay and Nicolay, Life of 
Lincoln,” Vol. I, 330-351 (Douglas and Nebraska). Frederick Bancroft, Life 
of W. H. Seward,” Vol. L 363-397 (The New Republican Party and its Leader). 
J. F. Rhodes History of the United States,” Vol. I, 461-490 (Douglas, Chase, 
and Popular Sovereignty). Edward Stanwood, History of the Presidency,” 
258-278 (The Break-up of Parties). H. W. Elson, History of the United 
States,” 571-578 (Douglas and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill). 


Chapter XXXI 

J. F. Rhodes, History of the United States,” Vol. II, 250-270 (The Dred 
Scott Case). A. C. McLaughlin, History of the American Nation,” 404-407 
(The North outstrips the South). Edward Channing, Student’s History of 
the United States,” 501-502 (Underlying Cause of Secession). Greeley's 
“American Conflict,” Vol. I, 299-327 (The Presidential Canvass of i860). 
Edward McPherson, “History of the Rebellion,” 12-17 (South Carolina’s 
“Causes of Secession”). F. B. Sanborn, “Life of John Brown,” 619-632 
(Death and Character of Brown). Tarbell’s “Life of Lincoln,” Vol. II, 94- 
127 (The Lincoln-Douglas Debates). 

Chapters XXXII-XXXV 

John C. Ropes, “The Story of the Civil War,” Vol. I, 1-9 (The States and 
the Union) ; 98-107 (The Opposing Parties) ; 121-160 (Battle of Bull Run) ; 
Vol. II, 54-92 (Shiloh). J. W. Burgess, “The Civil War and the Constitu- 
tion,” Vol. I, 28-36 (Antislavery Sentiment in the South) ; Vol. II, 271-287 
(The Last Blows). Goldwin Smith, “The United States,” 221-249 (Slavery 
the Cause of the War). A. B. Hart, “Source Book of American History,” 
303-305 (The Northern Uprising). Horace Greeley, “The American Con- 
flict,” Vol. 1,449-459 (The Call to Arms); 462-466 (The Massachusetts Sixth 
in Baltimore, First Bloodshed). E. P. Oberholtzer, “Life of Lincoln,” 262- 
294 (The Slave in the War). J. T. Morse, “Life of Lincoln,” 161-179 
(Lincoln’s Election, i860). W. H. Herndon, “Life of Lincoln,” 292-320 
(Character of Lincoln). Edward Eggleston, “Household History of the 
United States,” 306-310 (How the Great Civil War Began). Charles A. 
Dana, “ Recollections of the Civil War,” 168-185 (Lincoln and his Cabinet). 
Rossiter Johnson, “A Short History of the War of Secession,” (The 

Border States and Foreign Relations) ; 318-333 (The Chattanooga Campaign). 
Mahan, “Life of Admiral Farragut,” 127-164 (Passage of the Mississippi 
Forts). Charles B. Boynton, “ History of the Navy during the Rebellion,” 
Vol. I, 358-376 (The Monitor and the Merrimac). J. F. Rhodes, “History 


REFERENCES 


Ixxv 


of the United States,” Vol. Ill, 146-163 (Grievances of the South, Final At- 
tempt at Compromise) ; Vol. IV, 1 25-1 55 (Second Battle of Bull Run, and 
Antietam). Daniel Wait Howe, Civil War Times,” 56-96 (Camp, March, 
and Battle) ; 106-122 (Battle of Stone River). Woodrow Wilson, “Division 
and Reunion,” 204-212 (Election of i860 and its Results) ; 239-246 (Consti- 
tution and Government of the Confederate States). E. E. Sparks, The 
United States of America,” Vol. II, 237-258 (Secession as a Remedy). 
T. A. Dodge, A Bird’s-Eye View of the Civil War,” 136-141 (Battle of Gettys- 
burg). General U. S. Grant, ‘‘Personal Memoirs,” Vol. I, 294-315 (Capture 
of Fort Donelson) ; 532-547 (Siege of Vicksburg) ; Vol. II, 483-498 (The 
Surrender of Appomattox). Sherman, General W. T., “Memoirs,” Vol. II, 
108-128 (The Capture of Atlanta) ; 174-198 (March to the Sea) ; 376-378 
(Grand Review at Washington) ; 381-409 (Military Lessons of the War). 
William G. Brown, “The Lower South in American History,” 155-187 (The 
Resources of the Confederacy). S. W. Crawford, “ The Genesis of the Civil 
War,” 422-440 (Bombardment of Fort Sumter). P. H. Sheridan, “Personal 
Memoirs,” Vol. I, 80-96 (Sheridan’s Ride and Victory). Hart’s “Contempo- 
raries,” Vol. IV, 309-313 (Battle of Bull Run) ; 395-405 (Emancipation, 
Lincoln to Greeley, A Peace DemocraPs View) ; 372-376 (Pickett’s Charge 
at Gettysburg); 376-381 (The Draft Riots). Frederick Bancroft, “Life of 
William H. Seward,” Vol. II, 223-253 (The Trent Affair). J. D. Cox, “The 
March to the Sea,” 21-42 (The March through Georgia). T. A. Dodge, 
“The Campaign of Chancellorsville,” 118-124 (Death and Character of 
Stonewall Jackson). General John B. Gordon, “ Reminiscences of the Civil 
War,” 198-212 (Chickamauga and Thomas's Brave Stand). John Fiske, 
“The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War,” 52-100 (Donelson and Shiloh). 

Chapter XXXVI 

Woodrow Wilson, “ Division and Reunion,” 254-257 (The Problem of 
Reconstruction) ; 257-260 (Johnson’s Policy). J. W. Burgess, “Reconstruc- 
tion and the Constitution,” 1 57-194 (Impeaching the President). J. G. Blaine, 
“ Twenty Years of Congress,” Vol. II, 188-203 (Contest between President 
and Congress, Points of Difference). J. F. Rhodes, “ History of the United 
States,” Vol. V, 516-529 (Character and Work of Johnson) ; 541-550 (Stevens 
and Sumner) ; 551-562 (Conditions in the South). Moorfield Storey, “Life 
of Sumner,” 255-270 (Reconstruction and Equal Rights). A. B. Hart, 
“Life of Chase,” 319-356 (The Problem of Reconstruction). S. W. McCall, 
“Life of Thaddeus Stevens,” 256-284 (The Quarrel with Johnson). Higgin- 
son and MacDonald, “ History of the United States,” 546-555 (Johnson, Civil 
Rights, and Reconstruction Acts). A. B. Hart, “Contemporaries,” Vol. IV, 
479-481 (Legislation concerning Freedmen) ; 482-485 (Thaddeus Stevens 
on the Fourteenth Amendment). 


Ixxvi 


APPENDIX 


Chapter XXXVII 

Higginson and MacDonald, “History of the United States,” 578-610. 
E. Eggleston, “ Household History of the United States,” 352-382 (Since Civil 
War). Woodrow Wilson, “ Division and Reunion,” 288-299. Sparks, “The 
United States,” Vol. II, 310-331 ; 332-356 (Industrial Development) ; 357- 
378 (Present Aspects). Goldwin Smith, “The United States,” 294-301. 
E. B. Andrews, “ The Last Quarter Century in the United States,” from p. 223 
in Vol. I to end of Vol. II. J. G. Wilson, “The Presidents of the United 
States,” 397-425 (Hayes) ; 426-443 (Garfield) ; 444-467 (Arthur) ; 468-491 
(Cleveland); 492-506 (Harrison). Fiske, “ American Political Ideas,” loi- 
152 (Manifest Destiny). Shaler, “The United States of America,” Chapters 
I, II, HI, V, VI, VIII, XIII, XIV, and XV. 


INDEX 


Diacritic marks used: ale, fat, arm, fall, care, eve, end, her. Ice, ill, old, odd, food, foot, 

use, up. Sqq. = following pages. 


Abercrombie, General, 107, 109. 

Abolitionism, 319, 320; effect of, on the 
South, 320, 321; opposition to, in the 
North, 323. 

Abolitionists, methods of, 320; their war 
on slavery, 320; mob violence against, 
323, 324; divisions of, 325; and the 
mails, 325; and the right of petition, 
326-328; attitude toward compromise, 
353; attitude toward the fugitive slave 
law, 354. 

Aca'dia, 98, 113. 

Aca'dians, removal of, 106. 

Adams, Abigail, 254. 

Adams, Charles Francis, 345, 423. 

Adams, John, 117, 118, 122, 139, 158, 
179, 230, 231, 232, 243; elected Pres- 
ident, 244; administration, 244-252; 
sketch of, 245, 248, 251; death of, 
252. 

Adams, John Quincy, 282, 283; elected 
President, 284; administration, 287- 
292; sketch of, 287; death of, 292; 
defends right of petition, 328; claims 
war power over slavery, 329, 345. 

Administration of Justice Act, 130. 

Agriculture, in 1800, 255; progress of, 
470. 

Aix-la-Chapelle (aks-la-sha-pel'), treaty of, 
98, 99. 

Alabama, the, 423. 

Alamance, battle of, 125. 

A'lamo, 331. 

Alaska, 474. 

Albany, settled, 68. 

Albany Congress (1754), 102, 103. 

Albemarle, settlement of, 44. 

Algonquin Indians (Sl-gon'kin), 95. 

Alien acts, 248, 249. 

Allen, Ethan, 134. 

Allen, James, 257. 

Am'adas, and Barlowe, 32. 

Amendments, of the Constitution, 185, 

221; of a state constitution, 224. 


America, discovery of, 8; exploration of 
interior, 24-26; physical features of, 
28, 29. 

American Antislavery Society, 319. 
American Association (1774), 132. 
Americus Vespucius (a-mer'i-cus ves-pu'- 
shus), 22. 

Ames, Fisher, 242. 

Amherst, General, 109. 

Anderson, Major Robert, 385, 386. 

Andre, Major, 154. 

Andros, Sir Edmund, 63, 73, 75. 

Annapolis Convention, 177. 

Anthracite coal, 298. 

Antietam (an-te'tam), battle of, 404. 
Anti-federalists, 231, 237. 

Anti-masonic party, 304. 

“Anti-Nebraska” men, 360, 361. 
Appointment, power of, 201. 

Appomattox, 424. 

Aristocracy, 190. 

Arma'da, Spanish, defeat of, 33, 34. 
Arnold, Benedict, 135, 148; treason of, 
i 53 » 154- 

Arthur, Chester A., 448, 450. 

Articles of Confederation, 87. 

Astoria, 335. 

Atchison, Senator, 361. 

Atlantic cable, 472. 

Austin, Moses, 330. 

Austin, Stephen F., 330. 

Australian ballot system, 453. 

Baker, Colonel E. D., 392. 

Bal-bo'a, 25. 

Balls Bluff, disaster of, 392. 

Baltimore, Lord, 42. 

Bank, United States, established, 236; 
fails of recharter, 278; rechartered, 
279* 304, 305- 
Banking laws, 308. 

Banks, General N. P,, 402, 403. 

Barbary pirates, 266. 

Barclay, Captain, 275. 

vii 


Ixxviii 


INDEX 


“Barnburners,” 345. 

Barre (ba-ra'), 122. 

Baum, Colonel, 147. 

Beaumarchais (bo-mar-shay'), 149. 
Beauregard, General P. G. T. (bo'ri- 
gard), 385, 386, 389, 399. 

Beecher, Henry Ward, 362. 

Belknap, W. W., 442. 

Bell, John, 360, 375, 376. 

Bemis Heights, 148. 

Benton, Thomas H., 306. 

Berkeley, Lord John, 74. 

Berkeley, Sir William, 42, 44. 

Bill of Rights, 167, 168, 185. 

Birney, James G., 323, 325, 333. 

Blaine, James G., 448, 45 L 453- 
Blair, Francis P., 438. 

Blennerhassett, 269. 

Blockade, 266; in Civil War, 392, 408. 
“Border Ruffians,” 361, 362. 

Border States, 384. 

“Boston Massacre,” 126, 130. 

Boston Port Bill, 129. 

Boston “Tea Party,” 126. 

Bowdoin, Governor (bo'din), 172. 
Braddock’s defeat, 104, 105. 

Bradford, William, 53. 

Bragg, General Braxton, 399, 401, 413. 
Brandywine, battle of, 146. 

Brant, Joseph, 151. 

Breckinridge, John C., 365, 375. 

Brewster, William, 53. 

British debts, 116. 

British government, 114. 

Brock, General, 273. 

Brooke, Lord, 58. 

Brooks, Preston, 363. 

Brown, B. Gratz, 441. 

Brown, Charles Brockden, 257. 

Brown, John, 373, 374. 

Bryan, William J., 458, 465. 

Bryant, William Cullen, 279. 

Buchanan, James, 358; elected President, 
365; on the Lecompton question, 371; 
on secession, 379, 380. 

Buckner, General, 398. 

Buell, Don Carlos, General, 399, 401. 
Buena Vista (bwa'na vis'ta), battle of, 
342. 

Bull Run, battle of, 389-391; second battle 
of, 404. 

Bunker Hill, 134. 

Burgesses, in Virginia, 40. 

Burgoyne’s invasion, 147. 

Burke, Edmund, 122, 125, 127, 128, 156. 
Burlingame, Anson, 363. 


Burnside, General E. A., 404, 413. 

Burr, Aaron, Vice President, 251; kills 
Hamilton, 263; trial of, 268,* 269. 
Butler, General B. F., 400, 405. 

Butler, William O., 345. 

Cabinet, the President’s, 198. 

Cabot, John, 21, 31. 

Calhoun, John C., 271, 282, 288, 301, 302, 
304; and abolition “incendiary” docu- 
ments, 326; promotes annexation of 
Texas, 334; on compromises of 1850, 

351- ^ 

California, conquest of, 342, 343; gold dis- 
covered in, 346; territorial organiza- 
tion, 347; admission of, 348, 350. 
Calvert, Cecil, 43. 

Camden, battle of, 155. 

Canada, 113, 271-273. 

Cape Verde Islands, 21. 

Capital of the United States, location of, 
236. 

Carey, Henry C., 299. 

Carolina, founding and history of, 44, 45; 
divided, 46. 

“Carpetbaggers,” 439, 440. 

Carroll, Charles, 297. 

Carteret, Philip, 74. 

Carteret, Sir George, 74, 75. 

Cartier, Jacques (zhak kar-tya'), 91. 

Cedar Creek, battle of, 416. 

Census, first, 242; of 1800, 253. 

Centennial Exposition, 447. 

Cerro Gordo, battle of, 342. 

Cervera, Admiral (thar-va'ra), 461, 462. 
Chaldea, 2. 

Champlain, Samuel de, 94, 95, 102. 
Chancellorsville, battle of, 409. 

Channing, William E., defends abolitionists, 

324. 

Chapul'tepec, 342. 

Charlemagne (shar'le-main), 6. 

Charleston, S.C., founded, 45. 

Charter Oak, 64. 

Chase, Salmon P., 358, 437. 

Chattanooga, 398, 412, 413. 

Cherokee Indians, removal of, 288. 

Cherry Valley, 151. 

Chesapeake affair, the, 267, 

Chickamauga, battle of, 412. 

Churubusco (choo-roo-boos'ko), 342. 
Circular letters, 124. 

Cities, growth of, 469. 

Citizenship, 187, 226. 

Civil rights bill, 433. 

Civil service reform, 446, 449. 


INDEX 


Ixxix 


Civil War, 382-428; purpose of the North 
in, 382-383; purpose of the South in, 
385 ; relative strength of the North and 
the South, 386, 387; preparations for, 
388; military objects of, in the West, 
395; politics and slavery in, 404-406; 
party opposition to, 407-408, 416-418; 
cost of, 425, 426; results of, 426, 427, 
433; close of, 427. 

Clarendon, colony of, 44, 45. 

Clark, George Rogers, 174. 

Clay, Henry, 271; sketch of, 279; favors 
protective tariff, 284, 285, 288, 304; 
on abolition petitions, 327; on annexa- 
tion of Texas, 332, 333; on compro- 
mises of 1850, 350. 

Cleveland, Grover, 202, 451-453, 456, 457. 

Clinton, DeWitt, 279. 

Clinton, General, 151, 154. 

Clinton, George, 185, 231, 240, 243, 262. 

Cold Harbor, battle of, 414. 

Colfax, Schuyler, 438- 

Coligny, Admiral (co-len-ye'), 91, 92. 

Colonies, English, in America, population, 
81; pursuits, 81; slavery, 82; religion, 
82 ; education, 83 ; attacks on charters, 
83, 84; boundary disputes, 84; quar- 
rels of governors and legislatures, 85; 
plans of union, 86; union, 121, 130. 

Colony, definition of, 30; motives for, 30; 
English idea of, 30, 31. 

Columbia River, discovery of, 335. 

Columbus, Christopher, 8, 13-21. 

Commerce, regulation of, 170; in 1800, 
256 - 

Committees of Correspondence, 130, 13 1, 

Compact theory, of the Constitution, 301, 
313 - 

Compromises, of the Constitution, 181- 
184; Missouri, 317; of 1850, 344-353- 

Confederacy, Southern, 378. 

Confederation of 1643, 60, 61, 86. 

Confederation of 1781, formation of, 162, 
163; reasons for delay in forming, 163; 
controversies over, 163, 164; New 

Jersey’s objections to, 164, 171; Mary- 
land’s objections to, 165; Congress of, 
166; defects in, 168-172. 

Confiscation, 406. 

Congress of the United States, 215, 216. 
{See also Senate, House of Represen- 
tatives.) 

Connecticut, early history of, 58, 59; char- 
ter of, 86. 

“Conscience Whigs,” 345. 

Constantinople, captured by Turks, 12. 


Constitution^ the, 275. 

Constitution of the United States, making 
of, 177-185; sources of, 180; Virginia 
plan of, 182; three-fifths compromise 
of, 183; signing and ratifying, 184; 
goes into operation, 185; objections to, 
185; new government under, 187-190, 
230; written and unwritten, 220; as 
the fundamental law, 220; construction 
of, 221; how extended to insular pos- 
sessions, 229. 

Constitutional Convention of 1787, mem- 
bers of, 179; rules of, 179; difficulties 
of, 180; Journal of, 180; compromises 
of, 181-184. 

Constitutional Union party, 375. 

Construction of the Constitution, strict, 
liberal, 238. 

Continental Congress, First, 131; Declara- 
tion of Rights, 13 1 ; Second, 134; na- 
ture of, 162, 165. 

“Contraband of War,” 405. 

Contreras (kon-tra'ras), 342. 

“Conway Cabal,” 150. 

Cooper, Peter, 444. 

Corinth, 399, 401. 

Cornbury, Lord, 86. 

Cornwallis, General, 155; surrender of, 
156. 

Coronado, 26. 

Cor'tez, 25. 

Cotton culture, 31 1. 

Cotton gin, 311, 312. 

Cowpens, battle of, 155. 

Crawford, William PL, 282, 285. 

“Credit Mobilier” (cra-de' mo-bil-ya'). 
442. 

Creek Indians, removal of, 288. 

Crittenden Compromise, 380, 381. 

Cuba, 459-462, 464. 

Culebra Cut, 468. 

Curtis, General, 395. 

Cutler, Manasseh, 176. 

Dale, Sir Thomas, Governor, 40. 

Dare, Virginia, 33, 35. 

Dark ages, 7. 

Davie, William R., 247. 

Davis, Jefferson, 378, 420. 

Davis, John, navigator, 32. 

Dayton, William L., 364. 

Deane, Silas, 148. 

Dearborn, Henry, 260. 

Declaration of Independence, 134, 139; 
committee on, 139; debate on, 139; 
signing of, 139; opening lines of, 140. 


Ixxx 


INDEX 


Declaratory Act, 123. 

De Grasse, Admiral, 156. 

De Kalb, Baron, 149. 

Delaware, early history of, 79. 

Delaware, Lord, governor of Virginia, 40. 
Democracy, 190. 

Democratic party, 292 sqq.; divided on 
slavery, 360, 371, 375; attitude in Civil 
War, 407, 408, 416-418. 

Democrats, Jeffersonian, see Republicans. 
Dennison, Governor, 397. 

De Soto, 25, 96. 

D’Estaing, Admiral, 151, 154. 

Dewey, Admiral, 461. 

Dexter, Samuel, 260. 

Dickinson, John, 121, 131, 139. 

Dingley Act, 455 - 
Dinwiddie, Governor, 100, 103. 

District attorney, 219. 

District of Columbia, located, 243 ; slavery 
in, 326. 

Dix, John A., 380. 

Donelson, A. J., 365. 

Dongan, Thomas, 73, 97. 

Dorr’s Rebellion, 202. 

Douglas, Stephen A., proposes Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, 356, 357; on the Le- 
compton question, 371; debates with 
I.incoln, 372, 373, 375, 376, 382. 

Draft in Civil War, 417. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 32, 33, 65. 

Dred Scott case, the, 367-370, 427. 
Drummond, William, 45. 

Dutch in America, 65 sqq.; manners of, 73. 
Dwight, Timothy, 257. 

Early, General Jubal, 414. 

Education, 474. 

Egypt, 2. 

Electoral college, 194-196. 

Electoral Commission, 445. 

Electric light, 472. 

Eleventh Amendment, 218. 

Eliot, John, 62. 

Elizabeth, Queen, 31, 32. 

Elizabethtown, founded, 74. 

Ellsworth, Oliver, 179, 183, 232, 247. 
Emancipation, in British West Indies, 324; 

of slaves in America, 404-407. 
Embargo Act, 267, 268, 271. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 299. 

“Enabling Act,” 316. 

Endicott, John, 55. 

England, territorial claims in America, 99; 
strength of, 102; gains dominion in 
America, 112. 


English, William H., 448. 

“Equilibrium of states,” 312, 347. 

“Era of good feeling,” 271. 

Er'ic the Red, 10. 

Ericson, Leif (life), 10. 

Ericsson, John, 393. 

Erie Canal, 288, 289. 

Essex, the, 275. 

Eutaw Springs, battle of, 155. 

Everett, Edward, 375, 410. 

Fair Oaks, battle of, 403. 

“Farmer’s letters,” 13 1. 

Farragut, Admiral D. G., 400, 422, 423. 
Federal marshal, 219. 

Federal nation, 173, 191, 192. 

“Federalist,” the, 184. 

Federalists, 237, 239, 244; mistakes of, 248, 
249; divisions of, 248; disappearance 
of, as a party, 280. 

Ferdinand and Isabella, 16. 

Field, Cyrus W., 473. 

Filibustering in Congress, 214. 

Fillmore, Millard, 345, 353, 365. 

Fitch, John, 256. 

Florida, discovery of, 25, 113, 263; pur- 
chase of, 283, 330. 

Floyd, General, 398. 

Forbes, General, 109. 

Force Bill, of 1833, 304; of 1870-1872, 441. 
Fort Donelson, 396, 398. 

Fort Duquesne (du-kan), loi, 102, 103, 
105, 109, no. 

Fort Fisher, 423. 

Fort Henry, 396, 398. 

Fort Jackson, 400. 

Fort Le Boeuf (le bef'), 100, 103. 

Fort Lee, 142. 

Fort McAllister, 422. 

Fort Moultrie, 135. 

Fort Necessity, 103, 104. 

Fort Pillow, 400. 

Fort St. Philip, 400. 

Fort Stanwix, 147. 

Fort Sumter, 379, 385, 386. 

Fort Ticonderoga, 107-109, 147. 

Fort Venango, 100. 

Fort Washington, 143. 

Fort William Henry, 108. 

Fourteenth Amendment, 226, 227, 434. 
Fox, Charles J., 122, 156. 

Fox, George, 76. 

France, struggle with Great Britain for 
control of America, 90 sqq. ; claims to 
territory, 99; strength of, in America, 
102, 1 13; assists America, 148; alii- 


INDEX 


Ixxxi 


ance, 149; breach with, 245; treaty of 
1800, 247. 

Franklin, battle of, 420. 

Franklin, Benjamin, his Plan of Union, 87, 
103, 123, 135; letter to Strahan, 136; 
in France, 148, 149, 158; on forming 
the Confederation, 164; in the Consti- 
tutional Convention, 181, 257. 
Frederick the Great, 107. 

Fredericksburg, battle of, 404. 

Freedmen’s Bureau, 431, 433. 

Free Soil party, 345, 346, 3-61. 

Fremont, John C., 343, 364, 402, 418. 
French and Indian War, 99-112. 

French exploration, 90 sqq. 

“Freneau, Philip, 257. 

Friction match, 298. 

Frobisher, Sir Martin, 32. 

Frontenac, Count,. 102. 

Frontier, western, 469. 

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, 350, 353; 

opposition to, 354. 

Fulton, Robert, 256, 296. 

“Fundamental orders ” of Connecticut, 59. 

Gadsden purchase, 343. 

“Gag rule,” 327, 328. 

Gage, General, 130, 132, 135, 167. 
Gallatin, Albert, 260, 262, 270. 

Garfield, James A., 448, 449. 

Garrison, William Lloyd, 319, 321; 

mobbed, 323, 324. 

“Garrisonians,” 325. 

Gas pee, the, 125. 

Gates, General Horatio, 148, 155. 

Genet (zh’-na'), French minister, 239, 240. 
Geneva Award, 423. 

George III, 114, 115. 

Georgia, founding and history of, 46-48. 
Germans, and Roman Empire, 5, 6. 
Germantown, battle of, 146. 

Gerry, Elbridge, 179, 184, 232, 246. 
Gettysburg, battle of, 409; monument, 410; 

Lincoln’s speech, 41 1. 

Ghent, peace of, 278. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 32, 65. 

Gold, discovery of, 346. 

Goodyear, Charles, 473. 

Gorges, Ferdinando (fer di-nan'do gor'- 
jez), 59. 

Gosnold, Bartholomew, 36. 

Government, forms of, 190-192. 

Graham, William A., 354. 

Grant, General U. S., at Fort Donelson, 
398, 399; 'at Shiloh, 399; around Rich- 
mond, 413, 414, 424; at Appomattox, 


424, 427; elected President, 438, 439; 
second term, 441-445. 

Gray, Asa, 299. 

Greece, 4. 

Greeley, Horace, 365, 381, 416, 441, 442. 
Greenback party, 443, 444. 

Greenbacks, 447. 

Greene, General Nathanael, 155. 

Grenville, Lord, 116, 119. 

Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 343. 
Guerriere, the, 275. 

Guilford Court House, battle of, 155. 

Hale, John P., 346, 354. 

Hale, Nathan, 154. 

Halleck, General H. W., 396, 404, 405. 
Hamilton, Alexander, in the Constitutional 
Convention, 177, 182, 193, 197, 233, 
234; and national finances, 235, 236; 
and political parties, 238, 243, 248, 
251; death of, 263, 268. 

Hamlin, Hannibal, 375. 

Hampton, General Wade, 422. 

Hancock, John, 122, 125, 132, 140, 231. 
Hancock, General W. S., 410, 448. 
Harper’s Ferry, 374, 389. 

Harrison, Benjamin, 453, 454. 

Harrison, William Henry, 275, 307; elected 
President, 309; death of, 333, 454. 
Hartford, settled, 59. 

Hartford Convention, 277, 302. 

Harvard, Rev. John, 57. 

Harvard College, 42, 57, 257. 

Hawaiian (ha-wFian) Islands, 465. 
Hawkins, Sir John, 93. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 299. 

Hayes, Rutherford B., 444-447. 

Hayne, Robert Y., 301, 304. 

Hayti (ha'ti), 19. 

Hebrews, teachers of religion, 2. 

Hendricks, Thomas A., 444, 451. 

Henry, Patrick, 120, 121, 122, 131, 133, 
179. 247- 

Henry, Prince, the Navigator, 14. 
Herkimer, General, 148. 

Hessians, 138, 145. 

“Higher law” doctrine, 325. 

History, American writers of, 299, 475. 
Hobkirk^s Hill, battle of, 155. 

Holmes, Oliver W., 299. 

Holt, Joseph, 380. 

Hood, General J. B., 420. 

Hooker, General Joseph, 404, 409. 
Hopkins, Stephen, 131. 

House of Representatives, voters for, 216; 
qualifications for, 210; appointment for, 


INDEX 


Ixxxii 


2 1 1 ; officers of, 2 1 1 ; powers of, 212; 
Speaker of, 213, 214; committee sys- 
tem of, 214, 215. 

Houston (hus'ton), Samuel, 331. 

Howe, Admiral, 143. 

Howe, Elias, 473. 

Howe, General William, 143 ; takes Philadel- 
phia, 146; evacuates Philadelphia, 15 1. 

Howe, Lord, 109. 

Hudson, Henry, 65, 66, 68. 

Hudson Bay country, 98. 

Hudson River, struggle for control of, 142. 

Huguenots (hu'ghe-nots), 91, 92. 

Hull, Captain Isaac, 275, 278. 

Hull, General, 273. 

Hunter, General, 405, 415. 

Hutchinson, Anne, 58. 

Hutchinson, Governor, 126. 

Hutchinson Letters, 123. 

Immigration, 457. 

Impeachment, 197. 

Impressment, 241, 266, 267, 272. 

Indented servants, 254. 

Independence, American, sentiment on, 
135; influence leading to, 137, 138; 
war for, 142 sqq. 

Independent treasury, 308. 

Indians, in Virginia, 41; in New England, 
61, 272. 

Industrial progress, 255-257, 296-298. 

Insular possessions, 229. 

Intellectual progress, 257. 

Internal improvements, 287, 288. 

Internal taxes, 120. 

Interstate Commerce Commission, 452. 

“Intolerable Acts” (1774), 129. 

Inventions, 298. 

“Ironclad oath,” 436. 

Iroquois (ir'o-kwa) Indians, 95, 105. 

Irving, Washington, 279. 

Island No. 10, 399, 400. 

luka (i-oo'ka), 401. 

Jackson, Andrew, 179, 199, 200; victory 
at New Orleans, 277, 278, 284, 285; 
character of, 291 ; elected President, 
292; administration of, 293-307; and 
the “spoils system,” 294, 295; Cabinet 
of, 299; toast to the Union, 302; and 
nullification, 302, 303; and the United 
States Bank, 305; and foreign affairs, 
306, 307; on abolition publications, 
326. 

Jackson, “Stonewall,” 387, 390, 403; 

death of, 409. 


James II, 73, 75. 

Jamestown, settlement of, 31, 36; site of, 
38; history of, 39. 

Jasper, Sergeant, 135. 

Jay, John, 131; minister to Spain, 150, 
158, 179, 184; chief justice, 234, 241, 
244, 245. 

Jay treaty, 240-242. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 13 1; on independence, 
i35> i39> 140, 176, 179; on authority 
of the Supreme Court, 219, 231, 233, 
234; and political parties, 238, 243, 
244, 250; elected President, 251, 259; 
inauguration of, 259; sketch of, 260; 
Cabinet of, 260; administration of, 
259-269; reelected, 262; buys Louisi- 
ana, 263-265; opposes war, 267, 268. 

Johnson, Andrew, 197, 418; becomes Presi- 
dent, 429, 430; plan of reconstruction, 
430, 431; impeachment of, 437. 

Johnston, General Albert Sidney, 396, 399, 
400. 

Johnston, General Joseph E., 389, 401, 
4 i 3 » 419- 

Jones, John Paul, 152, 153. 

Judiciary, under the Confederation, 169; 
under the Constitution, 217; extent 
of powers, 218, 219, 220. 

Judiciary Act, of 1789, 217; of 1801, 261. 

Julian, George W., 354. 

Kansas, struggle for, 361-363, 371. 

Kansas-Nebraska Bill, origin of, 356; 
opposition to, 358; results of, 360, 361. 

Kearney (kar'ni), General, 343. 

Kearsarge, the (ker'sarj), 424. 

Kendall, Amos, 325. 

Ken'esaw Mountain, battle of, 419. 

Kent, James, 299. 

Kentucky, in the Civil War, 395, 396. 

Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, 250. 

King, Rufus, 179, 269. 

King, William R., 353. 

King George’s War, 98. 

King Philip’s War, 62. 

King William’s War, 97. 

King’s Mountain, 155. 

“Kitchen Cabinet,” 299. 

Klondike, 472. 

“Knights of the Golden Circle,” 417. 

“Know-nothings,” 360, 364, 365. 

Knox, General, 231, 233, 234, 243. 

Ku Klux Klan, 440. 

Lafayette, Marquis de, 149; the nation’s 
guest, 284. 


INDEX 


Ixxxiii 


Lake Erie, battle of, 275. 

La Salle (la sal), Robert Cavelier de, 96. 
Latrobe, Benjamin H., 256. 

Laudonniere (lo-do-nyir'), 92, 93. 

Law, kinds of, in America, 220. 

Lawrence, Amos, 361. 

Lecompton struggle, the, 371. 

Lee, Arthur, 148. 

Lee, Fitzhugh, 461. 

Lee, “Light Horse Harry,” 151. 

Lee, Richard Henry, 139, 170. 

Lee, Robert E., 374, 387, 388, 403, 409; 
defending Richmond, 413, 414, 415; at 
Appomattox, 424. 

Leisler (lis-ler), Jacob, 74. 

Lewis and Clark expedition, 335. 
Lexington, battle of, 132. 

“Liberal Republicans,” 441, 442. 

Liberator, The, 319, 320, 

“Liberty Party,” 325, 333, 346. 

Lieber, Francis, 299. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 344; debates with 
Douglas, 372, 373; elected President, 
376, 377, 381 ; opinions on slavery, 382, 
383, 394; and emancipation, 404-407, 
speech at Gettysburg, 41 1; blamed for 
the war, 416, 417, 418; reelected, 418; 
assassination of, 425, 430. 

Lincoln, General, 154, 172. 

Lincoln, Levi, 260. 

Literature, 279, 298, 299. 

Livingston, Robert R., 139, 264. 

Local self-government, see State govern- 
ment. 

Locke, John, Constitutions of, 45. 

Lodge, Senator H. C., 457. 

Logan, General John A., 420, 451. 

London Company, land grant to, 34, 35. 
Long, Dr., 473. 

Long Island, battle of, 143. 

Longfellow, H. W., 299. 

Lookout Mountain, 413. 

Longstreet, General, 413. 

Loudon, General, 107. 

Louisburg, 98, 109. 

Louisiana, 112; purchase of, 263; area of, 
265; slavery in, 312; admission of, 313. 
Lovejoy, E. P., 323. 

Lowell, J. R., 299, 321. 

Ludwell, Philip, 45. 

Lundy, Benjamin, 319. 

Lundy’s Lane, battle of, 276. 

Lyon, General Nathaniel, 395. 

McClellan, General George B., 389, 391, 
401-404; nominated for President, 417. 


McCormick, Cyrus H., 473. 

MacDonough (ddn'o), CommodoreThomas, 
276. 

McDowell, General Irwin, 400, 402, 403. 
McDuffie, Governor, 321. 

McKinley, William, 454, 455, 458, 459, 
465, 466. 

McKinley Act, 455, 458. 

Madison, Dolly. 180. 

Madison, James, 171, 177; “Father of the 
Constitution,” 180, 232, 250, 260; 

elected President, 269; administration, 
270-280; sketch of, 270; reelected, 
279. 

Magellan, Ferdinand, 23, 24. 

Maine, early history of, 60; admission of, 
316. 

Maine, the, destruction of, 459. 

Malvern Hill, battle of, 403. 

Mandeville, Sir John, ii. 

Manhattan Island, settled, 68. 

Manila Bay, battle of, 461. 

Manufacturing, 470. 

Marco Polo, ii. 

Marion, General, 155. 

Marque (mark) and reprisal, letters of, 
152, 393- 

Marquette, Father Jacques (zhak mar- 
ket'), 96. 

Marshall, John, 185, 221, 222, 246, 257, 
269, 293. 

Martin, Luther, 179, 269. 

Maryland, founding and history of, 42, 43. 
Mason, George, 167, 179. 

Mason, James M., Senator, 351, 358, 394. 
Mason, John, 59. 

“Mason and Dixon’s Line,” 85. 
Massachusetts Act, 129. 

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 55 sqq. 
Mather, Increase, 63. 

“Mayflower Compact,” 53. 

Meade, General George G., 409. 
Menendez (ma-nen'deth), 93. 

Merit System, 201. 

Merrimac, the, 393. 

Mexican War, causes of, 338-341; prog- 
ress of, 341-343. 

Michigan plan, of choosing electors, 195. 
“Midnight Judges,” 261. 

Miles, General Nelson A., 462. 

Mill Springs, battle of, 397. 

Minuet, Peter, 68, 70. 

Missionary Ridge, 413. 

Mississippi River, discovery of, 25; navi- 
gation of, 263, 264; in Civil War, 395, 
396, 400, 412. 


Ixxxiv 


INDEX 


Missouri, struggle over admission of, 311, 
317; objections to admission of, 314; 
struggle for, in Civil War, 395. 

Missouri Compromise, the, 317, 318; repeal 
of, 357, 370- 

Mobile (mo-bel') Bay, capture of, 422. 
Modern Europe, growth of, 6. 

Molino del Rey (mo-le'no del ray), 342. 
Monarchy, 190. 

Money question, 456. 

Monitor, the, and the Merrimac, 393. 
Monotheism, 3. 

Monroe, James, 232; minister to France, 
245, 264, 267, 269; elected President, 
280; sketch of, 280; administration of, 
280-285; Cabinet of, 282; death of, 285. 
Monroe Doctrine, 283, 284, 457. 
Montcalm, General, 107, 108, in, 112. 
Montgomery, General, 135. 

Montreal, founded, 91. 

Morgan, General Daniel, 149, 155. 

Morris, Robert, 146, 169, 197, 232. 

Morse, Samuel F. B., 472. 

Morton, Governor O. P., 397. 

Mount Vernon, 244. 

Muhl'enberg, F. A., 232. 

Murfreesboro, battle of, 401. 

Murray, William Vans, 247. 

Mutiny Act (1765), 119. 

Napoleon, 264, 272. 

Narvaez (nar-va'eth), 25. 

Nashville, battle of, 420. 

“National Republicans,” 292, 304. 

Nat Turner insurrection, 323. 
Naturalization, 226; act of 1798, 249, 262. 
Navy, the, beginning of, 152; in the War 
of 1812, 273-276; in the Civil War, 
392, 422, 423. 

Neutrality, under Washington, 240. 

New Amsterdam, 69, 71, 72. 

New England, early history of, 49 sqq.; 

opposes War of 1812, 277. 

New England Emigrant Aid Society, 361. 
New France, founded, 94; fall of, 112. 

New Hampshire, settlement of, 59. 

New Haven, settled, 59. 

New Jersey, early history of, 74. 

New Mexico, conquest of, 342, 343. 

New Netherlands, 71. 

New Orleans, right of deposit, 263, 264; 

victory of, 277, 278; capture of, 400. 
New Orleans Act, 313. 

Newport, Christopher, 36. 

Newspapers, 473. 

New Sweden, 71. 


New York, early history of, 65 sqq. 
Non-intercourse Act, 268. 

Norman Conquest, 90. 

Norsemen, discover America, 10. 

North, Lord, proposal of conciliation, 132; 
resigns, 156. 

North American Review, the, 279. 
Northwest territory, 174, 

Nullification, 250, 301, 302, 303. 

Oglethorpe, James E., 46-48, 61. 

Ohio admitted, 261. 

Ohio Company, 87; of 1786, 176. 

Ohio valley, 99. 

“Omnibus Bill,” 353. 

Ordinance of 1787, 173. 

Oregon, British-American dispute over, 
335-337- 

Oregon, the, 466. 

Organizing act, for a territory, 256. 
Oris'kany, battle of, 149. 

Ostend Manifesto, 358. 

Otis, H. G., 320. 

Otis, James, 118, 122. 

Pacific Railroad, 472. 

Paine, Thomas, Common Sense, 138; The 
Crisis, 145, 257. 

Palma, General, 465. 

Palmer, John M., 458. 

Palo Alto (pa'lo al'to), battle of, 341. 
Panama', 26. 

Panama Canal, 466, 468. 

Pan-American Exposition, 466. 

Panic, of 1837, 307; of 1857, 474; of 
1873, 442; of 1893, 456. 

Papal decree (1493), 21, 31, 88. 

Paris, treaty of 1763, 112, 113; treaty of 

1783, 158- 

Parker, Alton B., 468. 

Parkman, Francis, 98. 

Parliament, corruption of, 114, 115; taxing 
policy, 1 1 7, 1 19; policy of coercion 
G774), 129, 130; supremacy of, 220. 
Parties, English, in the Revolution, 122. 
Patroons, 69. 

Paul us Hook, 151. 

Peace Commission of 1782, 158. 

Peace Congress (1861), 381. 

Pea Ridge, battle of, 395. 

Pemberton, General, 412. 

Pendleton, George H., 418. 

Pendleton Civil Service Act, 450. 
Peninsular Campaign, 401-403. 

Penn, William, 61, 75, 76-79; dealings 
with Indians, 79. 


INDEX 


Ixxxv 


Pennsylvania, early history of, 76-79; 

growth of, 80. 

Pensions, 454. 

People’s party, 456. 

Pequot War, 61, 62. 

Pericles, age of, 4. 

Perry, Commodore Matthew C., 474. 
Perry, Commodore Oliver H., 275, 278. 
Perry ville, battle of, 401. 

Persians, 3. 

Personal Liberty Bills, 355. 

Petition, struggle over right of, 326-328. 
Petroleum, 474. 

Philadelphia, 254. 

Philippines, discovery of, 24; acquisition 
of, 466; government of, 229, 463, 464. 
Phillips, Wendell, 128, 324, 381, 383. 
Phips, Sir William, 97. 

Phoenicians, 3. 

Pierce, Franklin, elected President, 354; on 
the slavery compromises, 356. 

“Pilgrim Fathers,” 52, 54. 

Pillow, General, 398. 

Pinckney, C. C., 245, 246, 251, 269. 
Pinkney, William, 267. 

Pitcairn, Major, 132. 

Pitt, the Younger, 156. 

Pitt, William, 107, 108, 122, 128. 

Pizar'ro, 25. 

Plan of Union, Franklin’s, 87. 

Plymouth Colony, 50 sqq. 

Plymouth Company, land grant to, 34, 35, 
49, 50- 

Pocahontas, 41. 

Poe, Edgar Allan, 299. 

Political parties, early, 237. 

Polk, James K., elected President, 332, 333; 

and the Mexican War, 339, 340, 344. 
Ponce de Leon (pon'tha da la-on'), 25. 
Pontiac’s War, 116. 

Pope, General John, 399, 400, 404. 
“Popham colony,” 66. 

Port Hudson, 400. 

Port Royal, N.S., 97, 98. 

Port Royal, S.C., 45, 92. 

Porto Ri'co, 462, 464. 

Posse comitatus, 219. 

Powhatan', 41. 

Preble, Commodore, 266. 

Prescott, William H., 25, 299. 

Presidency, the, nature of, 193; term of, 
193; method of election, 194-195; 

qualifications for, 197; vacancy in, 
195; powers of, 199, 200; importance 
of, 202, 203; relations to Congress, 

215, 216. 


Presidential succession, 197, 198, 451. 
Preston, Captain, 130. 

Princeton, battle of, 146. 

Privateers, 152, 393; Confederate, 423. 
Prohibition Party, 444. 

“Property Doctrine,” 367. 

Provincial Congress, 167. 

Public land system, 176. 

Public school system, 257. 

Pulaski (poo-las'ki). Count, 149, 154. 
Puritans, 50; exodus of, 55. 

Putnam, General Israel, 134. 

Quakers, 57, 75, 85. 

Quartering policy, 118, 130. 

Quebec, founded, 94, 97, 98, 109; captured 
by British, no. 

Quebec Act, 130. 

Queen Anne’s War, 98. 

Quincy, Josiah, 313. 

Quorum, in Congress, 214. 

Railroad, first, 296; industrial influence of, 
472; mileage of, 472. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 32, 33, 65. 

Randolph, Edmund, 179, 184, 193, 233, 
234, 243, 245. 

Randolph, John, 290. 

Reaping machine, 473. 

Reconstruction, period of, 429-445; defi- 
nition of, 429; Johnson’s plan of, 429, 
430; Congress’s plan of, 431, 432; party 
influence in, 432; Acts of, 435, 436; 
negro rule under, 439; mistake of, 440; 
results of, 441. 

Reed, Thomas B., Speaker, 214. 
“Regulators,” 125. 

Renaissance (re-nais-sance'), 7, 10, ii. 
Representation, in the South, 433, 435. 

{See Three-fifths compromise.) 

Republic, definition of, 191; forms of, 191. 
Republican government, guarantee of, 202. 
Republican party (present), origin of, 361, 

364. 

Republicans, Jeffersonian, 239, 259, 280; 

“National,” 292. 

Resa'ca, battle of, 419. 

Resaca de la Palma, battle of, 341. 

Revere, Paul, 132. 

Revolution, the, causes of, 113 sqq.; 
grievances summarized, 129; causes for 
taking up arms, 135, 136; dark hour of, 
145; terms of peace, 158, 160. 
Revolution of 1688, 64. 

Rhode Island, early history of, 57, 58; 
charter of, 86. 


Ixxxvi 


INDEX 


Ribaut, Jean (zhan re-bo'), 44, 92. 

Rich Mountain, battle of, 391. 

“Rider,” 316. 

Right of discovery, 88. 

Riley, General, 347. 

Roanoke (ro-a-noke), colony of, 33, 34, 35. 
Robinson, Dr. Charles, 362. 

Robinson, John, 52. 

Roche (rosh). Marquis de la, 93. 
Rockingham, Lord, 122, 156. 

Rodney, Caesar A., 270. 

Rolfe, John, 41. 

Rome, 4, 5. 

Roosevelt (r 5 'ze-velt), Theodore, 204, 465, 
466, 468. 

Rosecrans (ro'ze-kranz). General W. S., 
401, 412. 

Rumsey, James, 256. 

Rutledge, John, 131, 139. 

Ryswick (riz'wik), treaty of, 98. 

Sable Island, 93. 

St. Au'gustine, founded, 26, 93. 

St. Lawrence River, discovered, 91. 

St. Leger (sant lej'er), 147, 148. 

Salem, settlement of, 55. 

Sampson, Admiral, 461, 462. 

San Jacinto (ja-sin'to), battle of, 331. 

San Salvador, 19. 

Santa Anna, 331, 342. 

Santia'go, victory of, 461, 462. 

Saratoga, battle of, 148. 

Savannah, capture of, 154. 

Say and Sele, Lord, 58. 

“Scalawags,” 439, 440. 

Schley (shli). Admiral, 461, 462. 

Schuyler (skl'ler). General, 147, 148. 

Scott, General Winfield S., 342, 353, 389. 
Scrooby, 52. 

Sea rovers, 31. 

Secession, in New England, 313; in the 
South, 377, 378. 

Sedition Act, 249. 

Senate, constitution of, 205; president of, 
205; vacancies in, 206; equality of 
states in, 206; powers of, 206, 207; 
Bryce’s estimate of, 209. 

Senators, U.S., method of choosing, 205, 
207, 208. 

“Separatists,” 50. 

“ Seven days’ battles,” 403. 

Seven Years’ War, 1 07-1 12. 

Sevier (se-ver'), John, 155. 

Seward, William H., on compromises of 
1850, 352; sketch of, 384, 394, 406. 
Sewing machine, 473. 


Seymour, Horatio, 408, 438. 

Shafter, General William R., 462. 

Shays’s rebellion, 172, 202. 

Shelburne, Lord, 157. 

Shenandoah valley, 389, 414, 415. 
Sheridan, General P. H., 415; famous 
ride, 416. 

Sherman, General W. T., 388, 413; around 
Atlanta, 419 ; march to the sea, 420-422. 
Sherman, John, 448. 

Sherman, Roger, 13 1, 139. 

Sherman Act, 457. 

Shiloh, battle of, 399, 400. 

Shipbuilding in 1800, 257. 

Sigel (se'ghel). General Franz, 395. 

Silver coinage, 443, 456, 457, 458. 

Slade, William, 327. 

Slave trade, 183, 184, 31 1. 

Slavery, introduction of, 41 ; in the colo- 
nies, 82; in the Constitutional Conven- 
tion, 183, 184; compromises on, 183, 
3i7» 353 , 380, 381; struggle over exten- 
sion of, 31 1, 345, 367-376; opinion of 
early statesmen on, 3 1 1 ; effect of cotton 
gin on, 31 1 ; abolition attack on, 320- 
329; southern defense of, 322; in the 
District of Columbia, 326, 406; dis- 
cussion in Congress, 327; and the 
Mexican War, 344; division of parties 
on, 345, 360, 375; disputes over, in 1850, 
348, 349; in the territories, 348, 349, 

35 L 357 , 361, 362, 367-373, 375; 
end of, 404-407. 

Slidell', John, minister to Mexico, 339, 

394. 

Sloat, Commodore, 343. 

Sloughter (sldter), Henry, 74. 

Smith, John, 36, 38, 39, 49, 66. 

Smith, Robert, 270. 

Smithsonian Institution, 299. 

South Carolina, and nullification, 302, 
303; and Force Bill, 304; secession of, 

377 - 

Southern question, the, 446. 

Spain, attitude in American Revolution, 
151 ; on the lower Mississippi, 263, 264; 
sells Florida, 283. 

Spanish-American War, 459-462. 

“Specie circular,” 306. 

“Spoils system,” 201, 294, 450. 

Spoliation claims, French, 307. 

Spotswood, Governor, 87. 

Spottsylvania, battle of, 414. 

Stagecoach, 255. 

Stamp Act, 119; opposition to, 120; 
repeal of, 122. 


INDEX 


Ixxxvii 


Stamp Act Congress, 121. 

Standish, Myles, 53. 

Stanton, Edwin M., 380, 402, 437. 

Stark, Colonel John, 147. 

Star 0} the West, 380. 

State governments, early, 1 66-1 68; char- 
acter of, 189; importance of, 223, 
227; constitution of, 224; departments 
of, 224, 225; suffrage under, 226. 

Steam engine, 255. 

Steamships, 281, 282, 298. 

Stephens, A. H., 379. 

Stephenson, George, 296, 297. 

Steu'ben, Baron von, 149, 150. 

Stockton, Commodore, 343. 

Stone River, battle of, 401. 

Stony Point, 15 1. 

Story, Joseph, 299. 

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 355. 

Stuyvesant (stive-sant), Peter, 69, 70, 72. 

Suffrage, 210; regulation of, 226; exten- 
sion of, 295. 

Sullivan, General, 151, 152. 

Sumner, Charles, 360, 363. 

Sumner, Colonel, 363. 

Sumter, General, 155. 

Supreme Court, 189, 219-221, 222. 

Talleyrand, 247, 264. 

Taney (ta'ney). Chief Justice, 369. 

Tariff, under the Confederation, 170; 
Hamilton’s, 235; first protective, 279; 
of 1824, 284; of 1828, 289, 290; 

Southern opposition to, 300; of 1832, 
303; of 1833, 304;^ recent, 454. 

Taxing policy of British Parliament, 117, 
1 19. 

Taylor, Zachary, in Mexican War, 339, 
341, 342; elected President, 346; 

sketch of, 349, 350. 

Tea tax, 126-128. 

Telegraph, 472. 

Telephone, 472. 

Tenure of Office Act, 437. 

Territories, policy toward, 174; govern- 
ment of, 228; in national elections, 229; 
how made into states, 316. 

Texas, 25; relinquished, 283; dispute over, 
330; revolts from Mexico, 330, 331; 
independence of, 331 ; reasons for annex- 
ing* 332; annexation of, as a party issue, 
332, 333; annexed, 334, 335; territorial 
claims of, 338. 

Thames (temz), battle of the, 276. 

“Thanksgiving Day,” 54. 

Thayer, Eli, 361. 


Thomas, General George H., 397, 412, 
413, 420. 

Thompson, George, 323. 

Three-fifths compromise, 183, 315. 

“Three Million” bill, 344. 

Tilden, Samuel J., 444, 448. 

Tories, American, 123, 128, 135, 142, 159, 

237- 

Tories, English, 122. 

ToscanePli, 15. 

Townshend Acts, 123-125. 

Trade laws, British, 116, 118. 

Trade routes to the East, 12, 13. 
Transportation .in 1800, 255, 279, 281, 
282. 

Travis, Colonel, 331. 

Treaty-making power, 199, 200. 

Trent affair, the, 393, 394. 

Trenton, battle of, 145. 

Troup, Governor, 289. 

Tryon, Governor, 125. 

Twelfth Amendment, 194, 262. 

Tyler, John, 199; as President, 333; 
promotes annexation of Texas, 334, 
381. 

“Underground Railroad,” 355. 

Utrecht, treaty of, 98, 106, 150, 158. 

Vagrancy laws under Reconstruction, 431, 

432. 

Vallandigham, C. L., 417. 

Valley Forge, 135, 147, 150. 

Van Buren, Martin, 295, 299; elected 
President, 307; administration, 307- 
309; Free Soiler, 345. 

Van Rensselaer (van ren'se-ler). General, 
273 * 

Vasco da Gama, 14. 

Venezuela affair, 457. 

Vera Cruz (va'ra krooz), 26. 

Verdun, treaty of, 6. 

Verrazano (v^r-ra-tsa'no), 90. 

Veto power, 199, 200. 

Vice Presidency, 194, 197. 

Vicksburg, 398, 400; fall of, 41 1, 412. 
Vincennes, 174. 

Vinland, 10. 

Virginia, founded, 31, 36; named, 32; 
slavery in, 41 ; Indians in, 41 ; charter 
withdrawn, 41 ; secession of, 387. 

Wade, Benjamin F., 360, 363. 
Waldseemiiller (valt'sa-miil-er), Martin, 23. 
Wallace, General Lew, 415. 

Warner, General, 147. 


INDEX 


Ixxxviii 


War of 1812, causes, 272; progress, 273- 
277; opposition to, 277. 

Warren, General Joseph, 134. 

Washington, George, 87; carries Governor 
Dinwiddle’s message, 100, loi, 103; 
defeats French at Fort Necessity, 103; 
captures Fort Duquesne, no, 131; 
in command of American forces, 134; 
character, 135; on Independence, 135; 
memorable retreat of, 143; at Valley 
Forge, 135, 147, 150; confidence in 
Arnold, 153, 154; surrenders command, 
160; Newburgh Address, 160; in Con- 
stitutional Convention, 177, 179; elected 
President, 231; administration, 232 
sqq.; Cabinet, 233; and foreign affairs, 
237, 239, 240; Farewell Address, 243; 
retirement of, 244; death of, 251. 

Washington City, 243, 254, 276. 

Watt, James, 255. 

Wayne, “Mad Anthony,” 151. 

Weaver, James B., 456. 

Webster, Daniel, debate with Hayne, 301 ; 
sketch of, 301, 333; on compromises of 
1850, 351, 352. 

Webster- Ashburton treaty, 333. 

Western lands, dispute over, 164, 165, 174. 

“Western Reserve,” 176, 

West Virginia, 387. 

Westward movement, 87, 28f, 298; after 
1840, 347- 

Wheaton, Henry, 299. 

Wheeler, W. A., 444. 

Whigs, English, 122; American, 237, 307, 
309, 332, 333; divisions over slavery, 
345; dissolution of party, 360. 


Whisky Rebellion, 261. 

White, John, 33. 

White House, 203, 254, 277. 

Whitney, Eli, 311. 

Whittier, John G., 299, 319, 352. 
Wilderness, the, battles of, 414. 

Wilkes, Captain Charles, 394. 

William and Mary College, 42. 

Williams, Roger, 57, 58, 61. 

Wilmot, David, 344. 

Wilmot Proviso, 344, 346, 348, 349, 352, 370. 
Wilson, Henry, 363, 441. 

Wilson, James, 179, 183, 193, 197. 

Wilson Act, 455. 

Wilson’s Creek, battle of, 395. 

Winchester, battle of, 415. 

Windsor, settled, 59. 

Wingfield, 36, 37. 

Winsor, Justin, ii. 

Winthrop, John, 55. 

Wirt, William, 291, 299, 304. 

Wise, Henry A., 327. 

Witchcraft, 83. 

Wolfe, General James, 109; captures 
Quebec, no, in; death of, 112. 
Wool, General, 342. 

Writs of assistance, 118. 

Wyoming Valley, 151. 

X Y Z affair, 246, 247. 

Yates, Governor, 397. 

Yeamans, John, 45. 

Yorktown, surrender of Cornwallis, 156. 
Zollicoffer, General, 396, 397. 








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